Bloodshed
by Chee5e55ave5
Summary: Andre has finally asked out the girl of his dreams, Tori Vega. All seems right with the world. But Tori has a dark secret about her past that involves Andre. How will this affect their relationship? Tandre fic! Rated T for violence COMPLETE!
1. Prologue

Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fanfics!**

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It all started when Andre Harris first met Tori Vega. Tori's sister, Trina Vega had been paired with Andre for the big showcase at Hollywood Arts so Andre had to go over to her house to help her rehearse. As soon as he entered the Vega household and laid eyes on Tori Vega, he had fallen head over heels in love with her. As time went on during the rehearsals, the two became friends. Then on the day of Hollywood Arts' big showcase, Tori stepped in when Trina had an allergic reaction to some Chinese herb gargle. Needless to say, she rocked the house. Because of her awe-inspiring performance, Tori was invited to attend Hollywood Arts and with Andre's encouragement, she happily accepted. From that point forward, Tori and Andre had become best friends. Time and time again, Andre had helped Tori and came through for her. He encouraged her to stay at Hollywood Arts when she wanted to quit because the mean girl Jade poured coffee on her head. He unearthed the truth about Jade's black eye when she falsely claimed Tori hit her. He helped her write an amazing song for Trina's birth week. He performed an original song with her in a fancy restaurant in order to pay off an expensive bill they couldn't afford. The memories Andre had with Tori were countless and with each memory that passed, Andre fell more and more in love with Tori Vega.

How could he not fall in love with Tori Vega? For one thing, she was drop dead beautiful. Her flowing brown hair, her glowing smile, her gracious figure. She was the epitome of perfection in Andre's eyes. But his love for her went far deeper than her beauty. Tori had an amazing personality. She was kind, caring and loyal to her friends. She was really funny too and was a great person to talk to at any time. Tori Vega was also one of the most talented people he had ever met. Sure, she couldn't play instruments as well as he could but she was a phenomenal actor, singer and dancer. Every time Tori performed, Andre was in complete awe. Every day, Andre was so thankful that he could consider someone as amazing as Tori as his best friend. As a matter of fact, she was the inspiration of his latest song "Song2You". The only problem with his perfect friendship with Tori is that he could never help but wonder if he and Tori could ever by anything...more. Did Tori feel the same way about him as he did her or did she only consider him a friend? How could he possibly know?

Which brings us to today...

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**A/N - I'm fully aware that this is starting out similar to other fan fiction stories. It'll take some time for the story to pick up. In the meantime, this is my first fan fiction so I'd appreciate some feedback. Constructive criticism is perfectly welcome! Depending on how well-received this is, I may or may not write other stories. I'd at least like to finish this one before I decide.**


	2. Andre Finally Asks Tori Out

**Andre Finally Asks Tori Out**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fanfics! Part of this chapter is derived from the episode "The Diddly Bops"  
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Clutching his guitar, Andre looked out nervously over the crowd from the balcony on which he stood. Hundreds of students have gathered around to hear his live performance. To put even more pressure on him, he spotted two men in suits. These were the people he was trying to impress; he needed their approval in order to score a record deal. Heck, it was more than a record deal; it was the biggest opportunity of his life. He turned around to his fellow performers. He had his trusty band members with him, each with their own instrument. And standing right next to him was his beloved Tori, ready with her microphone and looking as gorgeous as ever. Tori had not only agreed to sing backup in Andre's song for him to help impress the record producers, but she also personally convinced the producers to come hear his performance. Dang, Andre could go on and on about how amazing of a friend Tori was. He turned to Tori and said "I'm really nervous. I'm not sure I can do this." Tori looked at Andre directly in the eyes. "I know you can do this. You're one of the best performers at Hollywood Arts. If those producers turn you down, they're making the biggest mistake of their lives," she said. Tori's words were so reassuring and they gave Andre a newly found confidence. "Thanks Tori, I knew I could count on you," he said with a smile. With that, he turned towards the crowd and announced "This song is called 'Song2You'".

**A/N - If you've seen the episode, you know how the rest of the scene goes. They perform the song and it is very well received. I'm not going to go into extensive detail there.**

As soon as they finished the song, Andre felt an amazing rush. The crowd loved their performance and was cheering wildly. Andre looked at Tori and the two beamed at each other. Andre then turned his attention to the music producers who were whispering to each other. For the next few seconds, Andre kept his eyes on them, anticipating their response. Then suddenly, one of the producers turned to him, smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. He had gotten the record deal! "Yes!" shouted Andre in triumph and he turned to give Tori a huge hug in celebration. As soon as they broke apart, Andre took time to stare at her again. He truly was blessed to have Tori as his friend. He just scored the biggest opportunity of his life and none of it could have ever been possible if it weren't for her. In this very moment, Andre felt a tugging in his heart. He knew what he was telling himself. If he was ever going to ask Tori out on a date, this would be the time to do it. "Tori! There's something I've been meaning to tell you" he shouted. However, Tori could not hear him; she was too busy smiling and waving at the crowd, whose roars drowned out Andre's voice. Oh well, maybe it wasn't the best time. Andre turned back to the crowd and continued to smile and wave.

Minutes after the crowd had finally dispersed, Andre and Tori had come down from the balcony to talk to the record producers. The record producers had loved Andre's performance and his original song. They took some time to sit down at one of the tables to go over the paperwork with Andre while Tori stood by and waited anxiously. Andre signed a contract, he shook hands with the men and they left. Tori ran up to Andre and gave him another hug. "Congratulations!" she told him. "Thanks a lot. But you know I couldn't have done any of this without you," Andre replied as he embraced her. They broke apart and she smiled at him. "Don't worry about it, it was nothing. Now what was it you wanted to tell me?" At that moment, Andre's heart leaped straight into his throat. Guess Tori had heard him after all... Well there was no turning back now.

"Uhhh...Tori?" Andre stammered. "Yeah?" asked Tori.

"I'm not entirely sure how to say this. You know that song we just performed? Song2You?"

"Yeah, it was amazing!"

"Well, I kind of got my inspiration for that song from you. I started writing it soon after you talked to me in the black box."

"You did?"

"Yeah..." Andre took a deep breath because he knew once he said these next words, there would be no turning back, regardless of what happened.

"Tori, I've been in love with you since the day that I met you."

"Really?" asked Tori. The look on her face was one of shock. Andre couldn't tell if this was thrilled surprise or outright disgust.

"I've been meaning to tell you how I've felt for some time now and it ended up turning into Song2You. So...I was wondering...would you maybe want to go out with me?" As soon as Andre finished this sentence, he winced in anticipation.

At first Tori just started back at him with a blank expression, still shocked at this sudden revelation. Then all of a sudden, a smile broke out on Tori's face. "Yes, Andre, I'll go out with you!" she cried with enthusiasm. Tori and Andre embraced in another hug and a wave of emotions hit him like a pile of bricks. He was excited, relieved, happy and in love. He had finally worked up the courage to ask out the girl of his dreams and she said yes. Things could only get better from here.


	3. How Far Tori Has Come

**How Far Tori Has Come**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fanfics!**

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**Tori went home that day in absolute elation. She had developed feelings for Andre since the day she met him which have only grown stronger as the days went by. Andre was so kind and friendly to everyone, not to mention he was crazy talented, if not the most talented musician she had ever met. The fact that he was pretty hot helped too. By the time she had finished walking home, it was relatively late. She just barely made it home in time for dinner but at that point, she didn't care if she starved for a week. Nothing could put her out of her good mood right now!

Tori sat through dinner like she always did. Her dad would be telling stories from around the work place and if anything interesting happened. Her mom would stir up idle chitchat about any topic. Her sister, Trina would go on and on about the play she was auditioning for and how she was "destined" to get the lead role. As dinner went on, Tori let her mind drift off to Andre and that spectacular moment where she realized that the feelings she had for him were mutual. "And how was your day today, Tori?" asked Mrs. Vega. Tori snapped out of her fantasy and turned her attention back to her meatloaf, which was getting cold. "Uhh, I had a really good day today Mom. I got an A on my improv project for Sikowitz and then my friend Andre and I performed this really cool song he wrote for the school," she said. "That's really nice, sweetie," said Mr. Vega as he took another bite of meatloaf. Tori has decided to leave out the part where Andre asked her out. For one thing, it was too early to determine if she and Andre would actually work out and become serious. For another, her dad was a cop and was very protective of her. Who knows what he might do if he found out Andre asked her out?

After dinner, Tori went up to her room and laid down on her bed and stared up at her ceiling. "Wow," she thought to herself, "I truly am a lucky girl. Things couldn't be better for me at this moment. My family's bond is stronger than it has ever been, I'm going to one of the most prestigious performing arts schools in the country, people think that I'm talented, so I could get tons of opportunities in the future, and now to top it off, I have a truly wonderful date who could become a truly wonderful boyfriend! I sure have come a long way..."

"_Ah yes, since the little incident? Since the life you used to lead?_" an evil little voice in her head whispered.

"Yes, that's all behind me now," Tori told herself.

"_Yes, but it's still there_."

"No, it's all over now."

_"You can run but you can't hide the truth. You can't hide who you once were."_

"Leave me alone!" Tori shouted these words out loud without even realizing it. A few seconds later, Tori's mother came into the room. "Is everything all right, honey?" she asked. Tori was still gasping for air, trying to figure out what just happened. "Everything's fine, Mom. I just had a bad dream," she said. "OK, well we're all here for you Tori. Just like we've always been. I love you, Tori," said Mrs. Vega, who then left and closed the door. "Love you too, Mom," Tori said. She then crawled under her covers and tried to get some sleep. She tried so hard to think positive thoughts. Her past life was behind her now; she had to focus on the life she was living now and it was a truly great life.


	4. A Painful Past

**Painful Past**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious nor do I have any affiliation with it or any other fan fics!

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As Tori drifted off to sleep, memories of her past life came to her head. When Tori was only 12, she was harassed by bullies. However, her feisty and snarky personality intrigued them. As a result, they began to include her in some of their "activities." At first, Tori was afraid of them and only went along because it meant she would no longer be picked on. By the time, Tori had aged 14, she was a full-time member of a gang. They called themselves the Blood Vipers. Tori seemed to do everything with them. She was flunking out of school, she was doing drugs, she was smoking regularly, and she was helping the Vipers commit several crimes such as robbing stores and jumping small children. It may have seemed strange for a young teenage girl to be involved in gang life, especially at her age, but Tori was ruthless. She could hold her own against any of the guys and had a heart of stone. Because her family wasn't paying much attention to each other, neither her parents nor her sister noticed that Tori was involved in this kind of life. It looked like Tori was going to forever lead a life of crime and rebellion.

But that's when it all went downhill...

One fateful night, Tori and some of her fellow gang members were standing out on a corner, just smoking cigarettes. A teenage girl walked past them. She couldn't have aged any more than 18 or 19. So the gang decided to jump her for money. Well, unlike most of the people they tried to mug, this girl wasn't about to let herself be mugged easily. She tried to put up a fight. And to her credit, she gave a valiant effort. However, it wasn't enough. The guys outnumbered her and outpowered her. The girl soon found herself lying on the sidewalk, weak, bruised and bleeding. Tori had stood aside during this particular beating but she soon approached the girl. She turned to her fellow members and said "Allow me," to which they obliged. Tori walked up to the girl and pulled out the item that signified the Blood Vipers. It was a simple dagger with a red handle that had a picture of a green snake on it. She approached the girl with the dagger in her hand and whispered one word.

"Die"

With that, Tori thrust the dagger straight into the girl's chest. The victim gave out a sudden gasp of air as the knife pierced her skin. Blood trickled from her mouth and her chest as she became cold and stopped breathing. Her eyes became blank as they stared out into nothing. She was dead. Suddenly, Tori could hear police sirens. Normally, the Vipers would've been able to escape the crime scene. However, a witness had seen this beating while it was happening and called for the police without any of the Vipers noticing. The police were almost there by the time Tori has delivered the kill. Most of the Vipers had run away escaped but not Tori. She was caught while trying to climb over a fence, by her father of all people.

From there on, it was hell. Tori had to deal with the wrath of her family as they realized what she had been doing all that time. She had to deal with a sentence when she was declared guilty for her crime of manslaughter. However, when she was tested for drugs, it was realized how unhealthy Tori actually was and how close she was to dying because of her addictions. The result was that she had to spend a few years in rehab in order to correct her behavior and kick her addictions. At first, Tori behaved violently and erratically. However, as time went on, Tori began to recover. She began to learn how to behave and how to connect with her family. She was let out of rehab just before she turned 16, with the warning that any more violence could result in a life sentence in prison. Tori's time in rehab made her realize how badly she screwed up her life and how close she had come to throwing it all away. She vowed to live her life differently and to make things right. She was just barely readjusting to normal life again when she first met Andre Harris...

Tori jolted awake from her dream. She sat right up and began taking multiple deep breaths. Those memories felt so real...they were real. As soon as Tori had calmed herself down, she reached under her bed. It took a few seconds but she found what she was looking for. She pulled out her old Blood Viper dagger. She stared at it for a while, from the handle wrapped in red cloth with a green snake to the marks of dried blood that were still on the blade. That murder was the last time the blade was used. Tori knew she should've gotten rid of the blade. She knew she shouldve thrown it away or destroyed it or something. But she held onto it. Kind of as a reminder of her past life and all the mistakes she made. So that she would never make those mistakes again...


	5. What Happened?

**What Happened?  
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**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fanfics!

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Andre walked home with the biggest smile on his face he ever wore. He was already characterized as someone who was relatively happy and cheerful but this was happiness on a whole new level. He was absolutely pumped. For months, he had been trying to find out a way to ask Tori Vega out, to find a way to see if he and Tori could possibly become more than friends. And now he knew. There was no way Tori would have been so enthusiastic about going out with him if she didn't feel the same way about him in some way. Did this mean they were guaranteed to spend the rest of their lives together? Not necessarily, but Andre wasn't concerned about that right now. He was simply excited that he was finally going to date Tori Vega.

No one was home when Andre got home. He figured his parents must be working late. Andre went to the kitchen and rummaged through the fridge until he emerged with a microwaveable pizza. He popped it into the microwave and turned it on. While he waited for the pizza to heat up, he heard a beep that came from his phone. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw that he got a text from his good friend, Robbie Shapiro. It read "_hey andre what's up_?" Andre happily began to type in his reply to Robbie's text message.

_"i'm doing awesome, i got that record deal and finally asked tori out she said yes! :D"_

_"congrats man! weve been waiting for u n tori to get together, especially jade so that tori will stay away from beck"_

_"ya i know, i cant believe how well everything has worked out"_

_"well grats tori is awesome, shes kinda like ur older sister"_

As soon as Andre read that last text from Robbie, he suddenly became crestfallen. Andre tried not to think about his sister that often. Sure, she meant the world to him and she had been everything that he aspired to be. She was a huge part of the inspiration that led him to becoming a performer/songwriter and she could be considered as part of the reason he got into Hollywood Arts. But the reason he tried not to think about his sister so much nowadays is because every time he did, his thoughts would always drift to that night. The night where he learned he no longer had a sister to look up to. The night his sister was murdered.

Another text came from Robbie. _"sry i forgot u dont like to talk bout ur sister that much, not since the murder"_

Andre replied _"dont worry bout it, its not ur fault"_

_"k, well grats again"_

By the time their conversation was finished, Andre's pizza was finished and ready to eat. He grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, pulled out the pizza from the microwave and began to eat in silence. As he ate, he thought about Tori and his older sister, Maria. Now that Robbie brought it up, Tori and Maria _were _really similar. Both were funny and great to talk to in both good times and bad. Both were kind to everyone and fiercely loyal to the people they cared about. And both were crazy talented singers. Andre had written a few songs for Maria back when she was singing, and Maria also helped him learn how to play piano and guitar. These were crucial in his acceptance to Hollywood Arts. Likewise, Andre had written a song for Tori and it landed him a record deal. The more and more Andre thought about it, the more similar he realized Tori and Maria were. Maybe that was part of the reason Andre was so in love with Tori right now.

But then Andre's thoughts, as he feared they would, drifted towards that night...


	6. Tragedy in the Family

**Tragedy in the Family**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fanfics! R&R please and thank you!  


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Andre had been sitting at home in his room, toying around with his keyboard. He had a new idea for a song that he just couldn't wait to show his sister. But that's when his mother burst into the room in tears. "What's wrong?" he asked his mother. His mother was crying so hard that she could barely get the words out. "It's Maria...she was walking home...and she was...murdered!" his mother sobbed. As soon as Andre heard those words, his entire world had stopped. No...it could not be possible...Maria couldn't be...dead. The next several hours were a complete blur. Maria had been taken to the hospital but she was already dead before the ambulance arrived. Andre and his parents couldn't stop crying, especially when they went to the morgue the next day and saw her body. The autopsy said that she was bruised all over, had a broken nose and had been stabbed in the chest, straight into her heart. The police reported that they had captured one suspect who held a knife with blood on it, but the police never disclosed the suspect's name. All Andre knows is that the suspect was a member of some gang named the Blood Vipers and that he had been declared guilty for manslaughter. But this wasn't enough for Andre. He wanted to make this killer pay. He wanted to hurt him as badly as he hurt Maria, he wanted this killer to feel the pain he was feeling right now. Andre wanted revenge on him and the rest of these "Blood Vipers" but sadly, he would never get it.

Andre snapped out of his thoughts when the door to his house opened. His mother had just come home. "Hi honey," she greeted him. "Hey, Mom," Andre replied as he finished his dinner. "Are you okay?" asked his mom. "Yeah, I'm doing great. I'm just kind of tired. It's been a crazy day," he said. After Andre's mother went upstairs, Andre cleaned up after himself and went up to his room. The first thing he did was turn on his computer and open a file labeled "Blood Vipers." Andre had been doing research on the gang ever since he learned that they were affiliated with Maria's murder. Every piece of information on them that he could find was in this file, ranging from a list of current members to information on their mark: a dagger with red cloth tightly wrapped around the handle and a picture of a green snake etched onto it. Andre looked through this file and let his mind wander. He kept all of this information to himself so that if, someway, somehow, he found the killer, he could get even. But then a voice inside Andre's head said _"Dude, you've got to let it go. It's been two and a half years. If you haven't found the killer by now, you never will. You should focus on your life right now, especially Tori and your new record deal."_ Andre yawned. He was starting to get tired, after all this day had been crazy. He prepared to go to bed but not before updating his status on the Slap.

**Andre Harris:** Best day ever but now I'm exhausted. Lots of love

**Mood:** Happy :D

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**A/N - Yeah, this was a pretty short chapter. Sorry about that. I realize I've kind of been rushing out the first few chapters (I was on an energy high and just couldn't stop typing). I'll try to keep updating as often as possible but I won't post more than one chapter at a time. Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! Thanks for reading! =)  
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**Reply to Reviews**

**The Blind Sniper - I'm glad that you like the story so far. I hope you keep reading and that the story continues to appeal. As for your note on commonly used phrases, you're totally right. I agree that overusing cliches can be tiresome and annoying. My issue is I have problems with identifying what is cliched and what isn't. I'm still looking through unpublished chapters and I'll see how many I can weed out, although I can't guarantee that I'll be able to eliminate all of them (although the two you pointed out were kind of obvious now that I think about it). **

**babyluv360 - Sweet! I'm psyched that you like this! I'll try to update as much as possible although I might have to slow down a bit. I hope you continue to enjoy the story! Thanks for the feedback! =D  
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	7. Exciting Plans

**Exciting Plans**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not Victorious nor do I have any affiliation with it or any other fan fics!**

**A/N: I actually don't know if it's illegal to harm plants in national parks like Yosemite but I would assume so...my apologies if I'm wrong.  
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Four months have passed since Andre finally asked Tori out. And the two of them couldn't be happier. The two of them seemed to spend almost all of their time together now. Their relationship has also brought their entire group of friends closer together. Jade was much more tolerant of Tori now that she knew Tori wouldn't go after her boyfriend Beck. Andre's courage in asking Tori out had inspired Robbie to ask Cat out only a few weeks later, to which she said yes. Things were as good as they have ever been and Andre in particular was beyond happy. Four months ago, he never would've imagined this much harmony and fun in their group of friends. Gone were all of his worries which were now replaced with joyous memories of him and his perfect girlfriend. As for Tori, she basked in her relationship with Andre and how serious it had become. She loved him with all her heart and was truly beginning to believe that Andre was the one. Sure, it may have been pretty early to make such a declaration seeing as they had only been dating for four months and it was definitely cheesy but Tori felt so sure about this.

One hot day in May, Andre, Beck, Robbie and Rex were sitting at their usual table in the Asphalt Cafe. Memorial Day weekend was coming up and that meant plans for them and their girlfriends. "So what are you going to do for the big weekend, Beck?" asked Andre as he took a bite out of his burrito. "Jade and I made plans to go on a vacation. We're going to head to Yosemite. I think she'll really like that," replied Beck. "Only 'cause there's lots of plants and flowers to cut up with her scissors," piped Rex. "Isn't that illegal to harm plants in a national park?" asked Robbie. "Jade doesn't care. She's cooooold," said Rex. "OK, that's it. You're getting a time-out, mister," said Robbie and with that, he shoved Rex into his backpack. "So Robbie, what are you going to do with Cat?" asked Beck. Robbie looked extremely nervous upon hearing Beck's question, even more than normal. "I have no idea, to be honest. I've never had a girlfriend for this long before," he replied sheepishly."He's never even had a girlfriend before!" shouted a muffled Rex from inside the bag, which Robbie glared at.

Beck ate another french fry and then turned to Andre. "So what are you going to do with Tori, then?" he asked. Andre smiled and leaned in close, just in case anyone else was listening. "I've got an amazing night planned out. I've been working with the record company and I've already sent them a few original songs. They gave me good payment for them, which I'm going to use for this weekend. First, I'm going to take her to Maestro's. You remember, that place where Tori and I sang "Tell Me That You Love Me" to pay off our bill?" "Yeah, and with only two people and no Robbie there to buy extra caviar, you should be able to afford it more easily," said Beck. "Hey, I said I was sorry!" protested Robbie. "Go on," said Beck, ignoring what Robbie said. Andre nodded and continued. "After that, we're going to go to her favorite park for a night walk under the stars. Get a romantic feeling going. After that, we're going to go back to her house and that's when I plan to give her this." Andre looked around to make sure no one else was looking, and then reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small velvet box, opened it and placed it on the table for Beck and Robbie to see. Inside was a small silver ring that glistened as the sunlight reflected off of it.

"Oh my gosh! You're proposing to Tori?" squealed Robbie. Andre and Beck had to silence him before Andre could continue. "I can't propose to her now. We're only sixteen. We're too young and it's too early to propose; we've only been dating for four months. This is a promise ring. With this ring, I want to promise her that I will always be there for her, no matter what. I want to be with her forever," he told them. "Wait, you just said it's too early to propose marriage but it's NOT too early to make a promise for eternity?" asked Beck. Andre realized how he had just tripped over himself but before he could respond, Robbie whispered "Tori and the other girls are coming! Quick, hide the ring!" Andre quickly grabbed the box and stuffed it into his pocket before Tori, Cat or Jade could notice. The three girls came to the table and sat with their respective boyfriends. "Hi sweetie, how are you doing?" Tori asked Andre as she sat down next to him with her pizza. "I'm doing great now that you're here," Andre replied with a smile. The two of them shared a kiss and with that, the group carried on with eating their lunch and talking.


	8. The Big Date

**The Big Date**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fanfics! R&R please and thank you!  
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Saturday night finally rolled around, which meant it was time for Andre to put his big weekend plans into action. He wanted to give Tori the greatest night she's ever had. He wanted the night to be unforgettable. For tonight, he picked out a very nice black suit with a blue dress shirt, a purple tie and nicely shined dress shoes. He borrowed his father's car for the occasion (His own car needed repairs), which looked sort of run down but would have to do for the night. Andre drove to Tori's house and picked her up at around 6:30 PM. Trina opened the door when Andre arrived and called for Tori to get downstairs. When Tori ran downstairs to meet Andre, he couldn't believe how amazing she looked. Tori had picked out a very classy green dress that reached just below her knees and hugged her body in all the right places. Her hair looked shinier and silkier than ever and Andre swore he could smell an intoxicating scent of citrus from the perfume she chose. After have a short exchange with her parents, including Andre having to promise to Mr. Vega that he would not do anything illegal with or to Tori, Andre and Tori left for their date.

First off, Andre and Tori drove to Maestro's. The staff remembered them for their performance the other night and happily welcomed them to eat. Both of them enjoyed a healthy sized steak with lobster mashed potatoes and assorted vegetables and then shared a very rich piece of chocolate cake. Andre and Tori were able to use this time to talk about their friends and share jokes. Thanks to Andre's fresh paycheck for his work, they were easily able to afford their meal and since the live music was covered this time, Andre and Tori didn't need to perform again. After their dinner, Andre drove Tori to her favorite park so that they could take a walk in the clear night. They walked and talked for what could have been hours and took some time to sit on a park bench and stare up at the stars. Tori had learned some astrology back at her old school so she was able to point out some constellations to Andre. Andre replied that Tori deserved her own constellation as it would shine brighter than all the rest. Tori laughed at Andre and appreciated his compliment, corny as it was.

Before they knew it, it was starting to get really late. Andre had to drive Tori home before Mr. Vega sent out a search and rescue team after them. Andre drove Tori home and parked in front of the house. Once the car stopped, Andre looked straight at Tori and she looked back at him. Man, her smile was just too perfect to resist, her eyes were too inviting. "I had a really great time tonight," Andre told her. "I did too," said Tori with a smile. Andre and Tori climbed out of the car and walked up to Tori's front door. "You want to come in? You can spend the night if you want, I don't think my parents would mind," Tori offered. Andre couldn't believe that this was working out so well; it was critical that he be invited into the house rather than simply going in. "Uh..sure, I'd love to spend the night," said Andre. He leaned in for a kiss and Tori allowed her lips to meet with his. The two held the kiss for a few seconds before entering the house.

Andre always liked coming over to the Vega household, even before he and Tori were dating. They had a very nice house and everyone in the family, even Trina if she was in a good mood, was very friendly and inviting. The lights were off when they entered the house, suggesting that Tori's parents and Trina had already gone to sleep. Had they really been out that long? "Why don't you wait in my room and I'll get us some snacks?" suggested Tori in a slightly seductive way. "Uh..sure," Andre replied. He then went up the staircase, walked through the hallway, found Tori's room and entered. Andre turned on the lights, looked around the room and smiled. Andre appreciated the fact that Tori's room wasn't super girly so he didn't feel as awkward when he was in it alone. He reached into his pocket and made sure he still had the ring. Yep, it was still there, tucked away securely in the little box. Everything was going according to plan so far. All he had to do now in order to take his big step of faith was wait for Tori to come up into the room, find the perfect moment of intimacy, and then present the promise ring to her. It was perfect.

Not sure of what else he could do at the time, he sat down on Tori's bed with his legs off the side. He swung them around slightly as he waited for Tori. Just then, Andre felt his foot lightly hit something. Out of curiosity, Andre looked down on the floor to see what his foot had touched. A small red something was sticking out from underneath Tori's bed. Andre stared at it for a little while. He was curious about what it was. On one hand, it probably wasn't the best idea for him to go snooping around his girlfriend's things but on the other hand, Andre wanted to know as much about Tori as possible. He loved her and wanted to understand her. Andre figured it couldn't hurt to see what it was as long as he didn't break it and he put it back in the right spot. He listened for footsteps in case Tori was approaching and didn't hear anything. He then reached down and pulled the object out from under the bed.

Andre was absolutely appalled at what he found. It was probably the last thing he ever expected to see. In his hand now was a dagger with red cloth wrapped around the handle with a picture of a green snake on it. With dried blood on the blade...

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**Reply to Reviews**

**T w i T o r i - Thanks for the positive feedback! It's always nice to hear that people are enjoying the story. I look forward to continuing it and I hope you like the rest!  
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	9. Andre Learns Her Secret

**Andre Learns Her Secret**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fan fics!**

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No...no...it was impossible. Andre stared at the blade he held in his hand. There's just no way it could be true, this had to be some sick joke. How could Tori have anything to do with the Blood Vipers? How could beautiful, sweet, perfect Tori have any affiliation with the very gang that had murdered his sister? There's no way Tori could have been a member of the Blood Vipers. He still had the file on his computer with the list of members, which Andre had memorized and could recite like letters of the alphabet. He knew that list back and front and Tori wasn't on the list; there was no way Tori could be one of them! Andre kept trying to tell himself that there was no way Tori had anything to do with the Vipers or the death of his sister. But there was no denying the fact that she kept the knife in her room. There was no denying that this knife had the mark of the Blood Vipers on it. There was no denying the fact that there was dried blood that covered the blade.

A million thoughts and questions raced through Andre's head at once. He thought about his sister and what he knew about his sister's murder. He knew she had been stabbed in the chest and that one suspect had been caught and charged guilty. Surely, that couldn't have been Tori because such a suspect would probably still be in prison for such a crime. But what if the suspect had been released without Andre's knowledge? What if some sort of technicality or loophole had been found? Andre didn't know anything about the suspect that had been caught. Come to think of it, he didn't even know for sure that the suspect was male! He had just assumed that the killer was male because, according to the list on his computer, all of the other gang members were guys. What if the suspect was female but left the gang due to prison...then in that case scenario it could have been Tori...No! Even if Tori had been involved with such a merciless gang, there's no way Tori could ever kill somebody, right? She was just too kind, too caring to wish anything bad on anybody, let alone kill them. Besides, there were a lot of members in that gang. Anybody could have killed Maria...but that didn't change the fact that Tori was affiliated with them. The blood on the blade made him extremely uneasy as well.

Andre stood up and began to pace around the room. The question now was what on earth he should do. Andre had so many questions and he had sought revenge against the Vipers that he never thought he would get. This may be his only chance to, if anything, get some answers. Whether Tori killed Maria or not, she could have valuable information about the Vipers. This could be exactly what he needed to avenge his sister's death. But what if Tori was the one who killed Maria? He still loved Tori..at least he thought he did. But if Tori murdered Maria, that was unforgivable. Although if that was the case, then confronting her would only make things so much worse. It would definitely end their relationship which Andre didn't really want at the moment. But could he really be in a relationship with a murderer? Let alone a murderer who murdered his older sister who was everything to him? What was worth more to him? His current relationship with Tori or making peace that he desperately needed for his sister? If Andre opted to keep quiet and continue to see Tori, would it be worth it?

Andre's haywire thought process was abruptly interrupted by the sound of footsteps. Tori was coming upstairs to join him! Thinking quickly, Andre moved back to sit on the bed, took the dagger and slid it back under the bed. He hoped it was in the same place where he had found it or if it wasn't that Tori wouldn't really notice it had moved. Tori then entered the room with a tray which held a plate of chocolate chip cookies and two glasses of milk. "Hey Andre, I made your favorite cookies," said Tori with a smile. She was still beautiful just like she had always been but Andre couldn't help but look at her differently now. Could things ever be the same between them? Tori set the tray down on her nightstand and then sat down next to Andre, wrapping her arm around his shoulders. "Tonight was amazing, wasn't it?" she asked. "Yeah...it was great," Andre replied. Well, that was true until he found the knife. Tori continued to behave in a cheerful way but as she and Andre slowly ate the cookies and milk, she noticed Andre was behaving a bit strangely. He seemed to be a bit uneasy. "Are you OK?" she asked Andre. "Y-y-yeah, I'm fine," stammered Andre as he took another sip of milk. "Are you sure? I'm your girlfriend, I can tell if something's wrong," Tori said, her smile beginning to fade due to growing worry. "I'm fine, I promise. I'm just a little tired is all," Andre said, setting his glass down on the nightstand. Tori couldn't help but yawn; she was getting tired too. She'll just have to give him the benefit of the doubt. "OK, if you say so." They didn't say much more after that; they simply laid down beside one another on Tori's bed and cuddled until they both fell asleep.

The promise ring Andre had planned to give to Tori was still in his pocket. He had never given it to her.

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**Andre has kept his calm...for now anyway.**

**Reply to Reviews**

**Aliana (anonymous) - Nope, the situation is definitely not good. And it's likely going to get worse (or better depending on how you want to look at it) from here. **

**exnavybrat89 - Yep, you called it. It obviously had to be one or the other and as you just read, I went with "staring at Tori with questions". Sorry if you were hoping for the fight but the story's far from over.  
**

**ohsnapitzJess - I'm very happy to hear that you're enjoying this story, especially given that you have written very good stories yourself. I hope you continue to read and like and I'm looking forward to reading more of your work too! **

**Team emmet (anonymous) - Thanks for the compliment! Here's the update ^^.**

**WhiteChocolateAngel - Thanks, I'm glad that you like the story so far! And yeah, that cliffhanger was one of my favorite parts too in terms of writing. Here's to hoping I can keep you addicted. =P  
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	10. What Is Normal Anymore?

**What Is Normal Anymore?**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fan fics!**

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**It had been a few days since Andre found the knife. School was back in session and Andre was eating lunch with Beck and Robbie at their usual table at the Asphalt Cafe. Beck and Robbie were exchanging stories of what they did with their girlfriends over Memorial Day weekend as Andre glumly listened, taking a bite out of his pizza every now and then. Beck and Jade had gone camping in Yosemite and even though Jade complained a lot, they had a genuinely good time hiking, biking, picnicking and cutting up flowers from the park when no one was looking. Robbie and Cat had gone out a couple of times over the weekend, mainly just eating dinner or watching a movie**. **Even though Robbie was telling stories that were exciting prospects for him, Andre just couldn't bring himself to care. He couldn't get his mind off the fact that Tori could be a Blood Viper.

"How about you, Andre? How did Tori react to your ring?" asked Beck. "Huh?" Andre snapped back to reality now that the conversation Beck and Robbie were having had turned to him. "Earth to Andre? I asked how Tori liked the ring?" repeated Beck. Andre turned around just in case Tori was approaching and then turned back to the table. "I never gave her the ring," he confessed. "What? Why not? You were so excited about giving it to her the other day," said Robbie. Andre paused. Should he tell Beck and Robbie about the knife? Both Beck and Robbie knew about Maria's murder and that a gang called the Blood Vipers was involved. Maybe telling someone else would make this all easier? But then what would they do? Would they tell Tori that he knew about the knife? Would they confront her themselves? Andre decided that if he wasn't going to bring up the dagger to Tori, he'd be better off not bringing it up to anyone. "I just couldn't find the right moment to do it. I'm starting to think maybe I got a little overexcited about the ring and may have been rushing our relationship. But we did have a great time that night," said Andre, forcing a weak smile. Beck seemed content with that answer while Robbie looked down at the ground, appearing very disappointed. Beck shot a look at Robbie, which Andre didn't notice. They returned to eating their lunches.

Tori, Cat and Jade approached the table where Andre, Beck and Robbie were sitting. Tori looked at Andre with concern. She hadn't seen him since he left her house the morning after their date. The two had only communicated through text message over the past couple of days. Even through Andre's texts, Tori sensed that something was wrong. Gone was the cheerful and super-friendly pianist and here was a boyfriend who was down and distant. Was it something that she had done? Then again, it had only been a few days since the date. Perhaps she was over-analyzing and in a few days, things would be back to normal. Tori tried to shrug off her worries and the three girls sat down at the table, Tori sitting next to Andre of course, who still looked kind of bummed. "Hi honey, how have you been?" Tori asked Andre, putting on her brightest smile to see if she could cheer Andre up. "I'm OK," Andre said to her, trying to smile. "How about you?" Tori could sense a significant difference in Andre's bearing. Something was definitely wrong. "I'm doing fine," she replied and looked to the rest of the group. Beck, Robbie, Cat and Jade all exchanged glances at each other. It seemed as if Tori wasn't the only one who could sense that there was tension. Tori tried to ignore it, gave Andre a smile and a kiss on the cheek and proceeded to eat her lunch. The group returned to talking as they usually did.

This was pretty much how it went for another week and a half. Andre continued to date Tori, regardless of his emotions and suspicions. He tried so hard to convince himself that he and Tori could still be a happy couple. He wanted to forget about Maria, the Blood Vipers and the fact that Tori could be one of them. He just wanted things to go back to normal. But what _was_ normal anymore? Was it normal to pretend that everything was all hunky-dunky? That everything was right with the world when it wasn't? Was it normal to deny everything to the point of emotional insanity? Tori too could sense that things weren't normal. She could tell that, even though Andre was still willing to date her and spend time with her, something was causing him to pull away. He seemed to be a lot less enthusiastic and a bit more insensitive whenever they went out. Andre was also becoming more distant; he took longer to respond to her calls and texts than he used to and he often acted as if he were distracted when they were together. They didn't have any big fights or disputes or anything like that, but the comfort they shared was beginning to diminish. Could things ever be the same?

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**Sorry it's been a while since I updated. No replies this time, sorry. I've been busy and now I'm tired XD**


	11. She Knows

**She Knows  
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**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fan fics!**

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**One day Tori was over at Andre's house. He had invited her over so that he could try to cook her dinner. Truth be told, Andre didn't know a whole lot about cooking but he had looked up some good recipes online that he was willing to try. Tori stood in the kitchen and watched Andre as he tried to peel and cut some carrots. She had to admit, it was kind of hot. "Are you sure you don't want any help with this stuff?" asked Tori after Andre nearly cut himself as he slipped off the carrot with the knife. "It's OK, I got it," said Andre, readjusting his grip on the knife. "You sure now? I'm pretty good with knives," said Tori. _"I bet you are..."_ a little voice in Andre's head whispered but Andre tried to block that thought out. "I'm sure, I've got this. Why don't you just go into the dining hall and set the table?" Andre said, smirking as he put the carrots he already sliced into a bowl. "K, love you," said Tori. She gave Andre a quick peck on the cheek, gathered a couple of plates and sets of silverware and proceeded to the Harris dining room. Tori was feeling pretty good right now. She and Andre may have hit a rough patch in their relationship over the past several days which have been considerably tense, even uncomfortable. But now everything seemed to be returning to normal, Andre seemed to be back to his normal cheery self, and their relationship was stronger than ever. Tori was glad and certainly relieved.

Tori entered the elaborate dining room and began to set the table. It didn't take her a lot of time to place everything as neatly as she could so that it would be presentable for Andre's supper. As soon as she finished her job, she looked up from the table and saw something that caught her attention. Sitting in the corner of the room atop a small table was an urn. Tori had eaten in this dining room before and she had noticed the urn but until now, she had never really looked at it. Overcome by curiosity, Tori approached the urn and examined it. It appeared to be well crafted with some intricate designs etched on its ceramic exterior. What intrigued Tori further was the picture frame next to it. The logical assumption was that someone in Andre's family had passed away and this urn contained that person's ashes. But why hasn't Andre shared this information with her? Was it too personal? Did this person's death hurt him so badly that he couldn't share it with her? Tori looked at the picture of the person she assumed was dead. The picture was of a teenage African-American girl, who appeared very similar to Andre's mother. If Tori had to guess, this girl was about the same age as Andre, maybe a little older at most. She really was beautiful, her smile was bright and she seemed like the type of person who didn't have a worry in the world. Tori couldn't stop staring at the picture. She picked it up and scrutinized it more closely. Tori couldn't help but think she had seen this girl somewhere before. This girl seemed extraordinarily familiar to her.

"Whatcha looking at, Tori?" said a voice. Tori froze up in surprise and gave a small yelp, nearly dropping the picture. She hurriedly put the picture back on the table and turned around to see Andre standing in the doorway, holding a large pot of stew. "Uhhh...I was just looking at this urn and picture here," Tori stammered. Andre set the pot down on the table and walked over to the small memorial set up for his sister. Tori noticed that the moment she brought this up, Andre had suddenly turned cold again, his face a blend of sorrow, anger and agony. "Who was she?" Tori asked cautiously. Andre looked at Tori, knowing that there was no turning back now. He turned to the picture and said, "Her name was Maria. She was my older sister, my best friend in this world. She was what inspired me to become a musician. She meant everything to me." "I'm so sorry about her death. What happened to her?" asked Tori. "She was out on the street one night. But then she was murdered. These guys jumped her, they beat her and then they stabbed her in the chest," Andre coldly replied. Tori began to shudder slightly. This was starting to sound more and more familiar as they continued and it was really starting to creep her out. She didn't know if she wanted to go on but she had a feeling that she probably should. "Did the police ever catch those guys?" she asked. Andre turned to her and swallowed. The truth was about to come out here and now and once it did, it could easily change the entire dynamic of their relationship. "They only caught one suspect and they declared him guilty. I never learned who it was. All I know is that the gang that killed her was called the Blood Vipers."

As soon as Andre said the words "the Blood Vipers", Tori felt her heart plummet. She now realized why the girl in this picture seemed so familiar. All of Tori's memories of the night she killed someone came rushing back to her. She remembered standing over her victim, seeing the fear in her eyes. She remembered the sound her dagger made when it pierced the girl's skin and remembered looking at the fresh blood that now coated its blade, then looking back at the girl and watching her die. She remembered hearing the sirens after the murder was complete and trying to run away down an alley, only to be caught by her own father. As all of these memories flashed through Tori's head at once, she realized something that made her want to puke right there, something that right now made her want to crawl into a hole and die. The girl that she had killed was Andre's sister.

Tori's shock, remorse and terror could clearly be seen on her face now. She tried to calm herself down or at least appear calm before she looked back at Andre. Andre looked very solemn and angry as he looked at his sister's picture. What could Tori do now? There's no way she could tell him she was a member of the gang that killed his sister, let alone admit to being the one who dealt the finishing blow. He would never forgive her; it would destroy their relationship. She would lose the love of the man she loved for sure. But she had to say something; there was an awkward silence upon them and Tori was becoming uncomfortable again. "Andre?"

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**Uh-oh...**

**It's been blatantly hinted at throughout the story but now it's officially confirmed. Tori killed Maria. If you hadn't figured it out by like Chapter 5, you owe me a buck. Seriously.**

**Reply to Reviews**

**Totallybade (anonymous) - Thanks for the review! And yeah, I read Find Me. It's pretty good, not my favorite, but pretty good. Looking forward to seeing how that story turns out.**

**SQTgirl - I'm glad you like it so far! And yeah I'm going to keep writing. Stay tuned ^^  
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**livvylovesyou -I LOLed at Pleasy Cheesy. XD Thank you for the positive feedback!  
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**WhiteChocolateAngel - Thanks for the advice! I genuinely appreciate constructive criticism because it helps make the story better. There are some cases where it might not work as well but I'll try to apply your advice as often as possible (I just used it on the next chapter). Thanks! =D  
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	12. It Hits The Fan

**It Hits the Fan**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fan fics!

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Andre glared at Tori as she looked back at him. He could see the fear in her eyes now that he had mentioned the Blood Vipers. He knew she was affiliated with them, there was no other reason for Tori to appear so emotional about this. As he thought more and more about Tori, Maria and the Vipers, his emotions were beginning to boil. They had boiled to the point of overruling all reason. If there was ever going to be a time to confront Tori about the Vipers, it was now.

"So when were you going to tell me you were one of them?"

"Huh?"

"When were you going to tell me that you were with the Blood Vipers?"

Tori was completely taken aback by this statement. How could Andre have possibly known? Other than her family, no one had any idea that Tori was once a member of the Blood Vipers. No one would've looked at Tori and made the assumption that she used to do drugs or participate in gang violence. Tori never intended for anyone to find out about her dark past. She had wanted to leave it all behind her and move on with her life. For a while, she thought she truly had. She desperately tried to regain her composure.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I know that you know them, Tori. I know you have been with them."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Because I found a Blood Viper dagger under your bed! Their mark! I found it while I was waiting in your room the other night!"

Tori was shocked at this point. Andre knew that she had a past with the Blood Vipers for sure now. This was a fact so she couldn't deny anymore. It definitely explained why he had been so tense around her over the past week. Why Andre had seemed so on edge when she came into the room that night and why he was so quick to leave the morning after. Tori was panicking right now. How could things have gone so wrong? Why now?

"Andre, I'm so sorry..." Tori said, her eyes beginning to well up at this moment.

"How could you be one of them? They murdered my sister!" Andre yelled at her.

"But I'm not one of them! That's not who I am anymore! I left them years ago!"

"That doesn't change the fact that you were one of them! How could you?"

"Andre, I don't know how to explain! I wish I could go back and erase all of it! But I was only fourteen!"

"Why are you making excuses for yourself?"

"Because I'm really sorry! I'm sorry you had to find out this way and I'm sorry about your sister! I didn't know any better!"

All of a sudden the words that were coming out of Tori's mouth were processing through Andre's head. She left them years ago but she was around fourteen...she was sixteen and a half now so that would be about two and a half years ago...about the same amount of time that Maria had spent dead. She said that she was sorry about his sister and that she didn't know any better at the time. What a strange statement to say. And then Andre remembered the dagger. There was dried blood on the dagger, blood that could have easily been Maria's. All these thoughts and statements were beginning to point to the same conclusion. Andre looked over at Tori and saw her horror. Her hands were closely clutching her chest, she was crying harder than he had ever seen her and he was able to catch the regret in the tone of her voice. And then it hit him. Turned on in his head like a switch. For a second, Andre's fury had diminished as a mortifying epiphany dawned on him. No...it just couldn't be...this had to be a nightmare...but it wasn't...it was true.

It was Tori. Tori had killed Maria. And that's when Andre completely lost it.

"IT WAS YOU! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KILLED HER!" he screamed.

"Yes, it was me! But I didn't know she was your sister!" Tori sobbed.

"AND THAT AUTOMATICALLY MAKES UP FOR THE FACT THAT YOU STABBED HER IN THE HEART?"

"No it doesn't and you have every right to hate me for what I did! But it's over now! I'm not a Blood Viper anymore, that's not who I am! I'm Tori and I want to be with you!"

"I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE THIS! I TRUSTED YOU! I WROTE A SONG FOR YOU! I POURED MY HEART OUT FOR YOU! I LOVED YOU!"

"I love you too! I still do and I've never stopped! We can still make this work, can't we?"

"YOU CAN'T POSSIBLY MAKE UP FOR KILLING OFF MY FAMILY! HOW CAN I LOVE SOMEONE LIKE THAT? HOW WOULD I BE SUPPOSED TO LIVE WITH MYSELF?"

"You think I like living with these kinds of secrets? You think I like having to live with the things that I've done?"

"I CAN'T EVEN LOOK AT YOU RIGHT NOW! I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WOULD EVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS!"

"Andre..."

Tori, tears still pouring down her eyes, walked towards Andre to try and calm him down. She tried to give him a hug and Andre was too emotional right now to resist her. The two of them sunk down to the floor and cried and cried. God knows how long they sat there, crying softly. Eventually, Andre wiped away the tears from his face. He had come to a very difficult decision.

"I think you should go," he said coldly, his voice still quivering.

Tori looked at Andre, trying her best to hold in whatever tears were left. "You don't mean that," she said.

"Yes I do. I don't ever want to see you again. This relationship is over!" Andre said as strongly as he could without crying.

He tried to stand up but Tori rose with him. "Andre, please!" she begged.

Suddenly, Andre swung around and struck Tori across the face. Tori stared at the ground, in complete shock of what just happened. Andre stared at Tori and then stared at his own hand, clearly as surprised at what he did as Tori was. Quickly shaking off his own surprise, he glared at her.

"GET OUT!" he shouted.

Not knowing what else to do, Tori ran to Andre's living room, grabbed her purse, and walked towards the front door. Before she left, she turned around and looked at Andre one more time, who had come into the living room to watch her go. She started to cry again and then left his house. As soon as the door shut, Andre leaned against the wall and slumped back down to the floor, crying all the way.

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**Well, it had to happen eventually. Andre finally snapped and now their relationship is over. **

**Reply to Reviews**

**ohsnapitzJess -OK, OK, here's the update 'cause I'd hate for any readers to die. And personally, I handle suspense by eating things. xD  
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**I C a big world - Thanks! ^^  
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**livvylovesyou -Thanks for the advice! I hope I interpreted it correctly. But hey, we're all learning, right?  
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**WhiteChocolateAngel - I've been called worse. =P  
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	13. A Distraught Desertion

**A Distraught Desertion**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fanfics!**

**A/N: I didn't plan on releasing this for another few days but I had some spare time and I'm feeling nice. Enjoy!**

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Andre ate alone in the Asphalt Cafe the next day. He really didn't want to talk to anybody. He had been searching out everything he could about the Blood Vipers he could for the past two and a half years. He had mourned for his sister, vowing he would earn her peace, that she would someday be avenged. Why oh why did Tori have to be a Blood Viper? Two weeks ago, everything was as perfect as it could possibly be. Now Andre had hit rock bottom. As Andre quietly ate his lunch, Beck, Robbie and Rex approached. Beck and Robbie had both heard through Jade and Cat respectively that Tori and Andre had abruptly broken up and they wanted to know why. How on earth could Andre have possibly gone from promising to be with her for eternity to bitterly breaking up with her in just a couple of weeks? The three guys (well, two guys and puppet) sat down at Andre's table.

"Hey Andre, what's up?" asked Beck. Andre ignored them and continued with his food.

"We just heard about the break-up," said Robbie.

"And that you bitch slapped Tori," chimed Rex.

"Rex, if you can't be mature or show any respect, I am not going to let you be part of this conversation," Robbie said to Rex.

"Show respect to what? That mopey sack of potatoes over there?" argued Rex.

"Do you want to go back in the bag?"

"No, I've had enough of your tighty-whities and male make up for the month!"

"Then be quiet and show some respect!" shouted Robbie. For once, Rex actually kept quiet.

Andre sighed. Normally, he would find Robbie's feuds with Rex kind of funny. But not today.

"So what happened?" asked Robbie.

"I really don't want to talk about it," Andre protested, fingering with his french fries.

"Come on, Andre. It's us. The three of us have been best friends since grade school. You can tell us anything. You can trust us," said Beck.

Andre shot a look at Beck. For all he knew, Beck and Robbie could have been Blood Vipers too. He didn't know what to believe anymore. Then again, he figured Tori would probably tell Jade and Cat what had happened and they would tell Beck and Robbie anyway. It might as well come from him.

"Tori killed Maria," he said bluntly.

Beck and Robbie looked aghast upon hearing this. They looked at Andre and then at each other, clearly at a loss for words. Neither of them had any idea what to make of this. After what seemed like forever, Beck became the first to speak.

"It was Tori? That's impossible. You said some gang called the Blood Vipers killed her," he said.

"Yeah, Tori's one of them. She's still got the dagger under her bed," replied Andre bitterly.

Robbie looked up from the table. "Speak of the devil..." he muttered. Tori, Cat and Jade were approaching.

Jade and Cat sat with their boyfriends, Cat appearing very concerned and Jade with an even colder look on her face than normal. It was quite clear that Tori had told them of the events that transpired last night, not just the break up. Tori stood behind Andre and mustered a weak "Hi." Andre continued to look at his food, refusing to turn around to greet Tori. He could never forgive Tori for what she did to Maria. How can anyone forgive somebody for that? It was unspeakable.

"I don't have anything to say to you," mumbled Andre.

With that, he grabbed his bag, got up from the table, shoved past Tori and walked away. He didn't even take the rest of his lunch with him. Completely distraught, Tori sat down at the table with the rest of her friends. That is, if they still _wanted_ to be her friends. She had already confessed to Cat and Jade about the Blood Vipers and that she killed Andre's sister a couple years back. Cat was shocked, while Jade thought it was kind of cool. Typical.

Tori looked at Beck, Robbie, Rex, Cat, and Jade individually. Tori could tell by Beck's and Robbie's expressions that Andre had told them about how she killed Maria. The five of them looked at her and at each other as well. No one really knew what to say at the moment. The news that Tori had committed murder was huge and none of them had fully processed such a concept in their minds.

"I really screwed things up, didn't I?" asked Tori, breaking the looming silence.

"Yeah, you really did," said Rex.

"Rex!" shouted Robbie.

"It's not your fault, Tori. You didn't know she was Andre's sister. You didn't even know Andre back then," said Cat, making a huge effort to smile.

"That's what I said. But Andre's right. That doesn't change anything," Tori sourly replied.

"Come on, Tori. This is you and Andre we're talking about here," said Beck.

"Yeah, you guys have been in love for months now, since the day you met. I'm sure if you just give Andre a few days to sort his thoughts out, he'll take you back in a heartbeat," said Robbie.

"He'd better," said Jade

She looked at Beck while she said this. Jade knew very well that now that Tori and Andre were no longer dating, Tori could possibly go after Beck again.

"You guys are probably right," Tori said, trying to smile.

The bell rang and the friends dispersed for their respective classes.

***At the end of the school day***

School was finally over for today. It had been the longest day ever for Andre and he just wanted to go home. He didn't even say goodbye to anybody, he just walked straight to the school parking lot, got into his car (which was now repaired) and drove off. He hadn't even gone to his locker since it was so close to Tori's. He really didn't want anything to do with her right now, maybe ever again. Andre silently drove home and went into his house. He walked straight into his room where he laid down on his bed for a while. He didn't really think about anything as he laid there. After some time had passed, Andre got up and decided to do his laundry. He wasn't particularly neat, so he started by picking clothes up off the floor. He picked up a pair of pants and checked the pockets to make sure nothing was inside when he washed them. His hand felt something and he pulled it out of the pocket. It was the box that contained the promise ring that he intended to give to Tori back on Memorial Day weekend. He opened it and stared at the ring intently for a while. It still glistened with hope...but there was no more hope to be had. With that thought, Andre closed the box and chucked it at his bedroom wall. It bounced off the wall and landed into the garbage can. Andre then sat back down on his bed and stared at the floor in silence for a long time.

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**Reply to Reviews**

**Gogosilver (anonymous)** - **I hate to be the one to tell you this but most of the story is already set in stone. If Tori tries to commit suicide, it would already be in there but if she doesn't, I've got too much work done to change it now. You'll just have to see if it's already in there or not.**

**whitechocolateangel - Hmm...what to choose...spoil the rest of the story or keep screwing with you guys? Sorry, screwing with you guys is more fun! (Yes, I know I'm a jerk) =P I will say this though, there's about nine chapters left and I think the end is a good one. **

**livvylovesyou - Great! And yes, there's still some more drama to come. We've still got a while to go.**

**ohsnapitzJess - Chocolate ice cream? Nice choice. ;)**

**SQTGirl - Well...it definitely wasn't the last chapter. And neither is this one. ;)**

**Just Say'n (anonymous) - Thanks! I actually thought my story would be too predictable...but then again, I actually know how it's going to go. XD  
**


	14. Picking Up The Pieces

**Picking Up The Pieces  
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**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fan fics!

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Andre refused to speak to Tori for most of the remaining school year (which, granted, was only a couple of weeks). He wouldn't eat lunch with her, sit near her in class, or do any work with her. The only times when Tori ever saw Andre now was whenever they had class together but that wasn't much better because Andre still refused to speak to her, sit near her or even make eye contact. Even when, by some sick cosmic joke, Andre and Tori were paired up to write a script for Bradsteen's class for their final project, Andre refused to work with her. He merely wrote the script by himself and turned it in under his and her name while Tori tried to contact him again and again. At least he put her name on it but it didn't repair their relationship. Beck, Robbie, Cat and Jade watched in agony as two people who were once best friends and then lovers drifted apart. It was painful to watch their close friendship die and it was definitely discouraging. The four of them alternated between sitting with Tori or Andre at lunch, both of whom had seemed to close up to them as well. Did anything matter to either of them anymore?

One day, close to the end of the school year, Cat, Robbie, Rex, Beck and Jade all sat together at lunch, deciding not to eat with either Tori nor Andre this time. They had pretty much given up on trying to talk to either of them during lunch time for Tori had become a mess and Andre acted as if he were on his own island. None of them were really in the mood to eat. Naturally, Tori and Andre's deteriorating relationship was the predominant thought in each of their minds. They knew they had to talk about it.

"What are we going to do about them?" asked Cat.

"I don't know. Tori's going to cry if we bring up Andre to her and Andre will knock our lights out if we try to talk to him about Tori," said Beck.

"But we can't just sit by and do nothing. This is destroying them both, especially Tori," said Robbie.

"Well, it's all Vega's fault," snapped Jade.

"It's always Tori's fault, isn't it?" sighed Beck.

"Well it is. She's the one who killed Andre's sister. You can't make any excuses for that."

"But there was no way Tori could have known she was Andre's sister. It wasn't entirely her fault."

"Why do you have to defend her? She still did it!"

"I'm not defending her, I'm just stating a fact!"

"So am I! Do you want to break up so you can go running off to Vega?"

"No Jade! Why do you have to keep being so paranoid about me and Tori?"

"Because I don't want you running off with that slut!"

"Why do you have to be so mean to her? She's going through a hard enough time as it is! She didn't even do anything slutty!"

"There you go defending her again!"

"What's happening to us? We're falling apart!" screamed Cat in sadness. Everyone turned to Cat who was now on the verge of tears.

"No, we're not. Everything's going to be OK," Robbie said, trying to comfort Cat. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and allowed her to rest her head on his own shoulder.

"Nice move, Robbie," said Rex, but Cat reached over, put her hand on Rex's face and pushed him off the table. Robbie was too preoccupied to care at the moment.

"Can we get back to the topic? How can we possibly fix this?" he asked.

Beck and Jade set their argument aside, at least for now.

"We definitely need to talk to them," said Beck.

Jade sighed. "Beck's right. As much as I don't care for Vega right now, I won't sink so low as to let her friendship with Andre die. Neither of them deserve that; they're the best thing that ever happened to each other," she admitted.

"I guess we should try to stop by their houses when they have some more privacy. They won't talk to us at school, especially about each other," said Robbie.

"Yeah, we can do it on Saturday," said Beck.

"I think Jade and I should try to talk to Tori and you and Beck should talk to Andre. It'll be easier that way," suggested Cat.

Everyone seemed to nod in agreement. It wasn't much but it was a plan. And it was very likely that neither Tori nor Andre would be willing to talk to them when they came over. But they had to try. For both Tori's and Andre's sakes.

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**Supporting characters to the rescue!**

**Sorry, no replies this time. Got finals this week...So how are you all doing? =D  
**


	15. Atoning For Shed Blood

**Atoning for Shed Blood**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fan fics!

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Tori had been an absolute wreck since the break-up. She didn't even bother trying to hide that she was having problems. Her grades took a nose dive, she was eating a lot less, she was barely talking to anyone, and she had even started smoking again like she did back when she was a Blood Viper. Slowly, painfully, and surely, Tori Vega was withering away into nothing. Her hair was losing its luster, her eyes were bloodshot and baggy, her skin had gone pale, her breathing was heavier, and she was becoming dangerously thin, to the point where a few of her bones could be made out. She was barely able to get herself out of bed in the morning. Tori's parents recognized that something was seriously wrong with her and made plans for Tori to go to therapy. She needed help. Desperately. Tori knew that she needed help. But she just couldn't bring herself to care. All that went through her head was the following thought:_ "You hurt the man you love in a way no one ever thought anyone could and now he'll never love you again."_ It was a very depressing thought. Tori was glad that the school year was nearly over. She was tired of all the stares she was getting from other students as she sulked her way through the halls and she was tired of missing Andre, looking at him in class hoping he'd turn around, look at her and smile like he used to. But he never did. It really hurt her. If this had been a normal break-up, Tori would have been perfectly fine. But this wasn't just any break-up.

Tori was sitting in her room alone on her bed on a Friday night, knowing she pretty much had a free weekend. But it didn't even matter. She didn't have anyone to share it with. Cat had Robbie, Jade had Beck, and the person she truly wanted to share her weekend with never wanted to speak to her again. Tori tried so hard to think about anything else to get her mind off of Andre but it was no use. Every thought always traced back to him. Tori had never imagined that she could hurt Andre so badly. He hadn't done anything to deserve it. No matter which way she looked at it, she blamed herself for everything that had happened. As Tori continued to think, she started to cry again. This was probably the most depressed she had ever been, even more than the two or so years she spent in rehab. All she wanted right now was for Andre to be happy again. To tell her that he loved her, like he used to.

Tori reached under her bed and pulled out her Blood Viper dagger which she still had not gotten rid of. She stared at it, her eyes still watery. She stared at the blood on the blade, which she now knew belonged to the late Maria Harris. She lightly poked the edge of the blade. It was still sharp in spite of its two years of retirement. This dagger has caused so much pain to so many people. Not just Maria, but herself, Andre, Andre's family, her own family and hundreds of other innocents she had threatened during her days as a Viper that she did not know the names of. Why didn't she just get rid of it when she had the chance? Why didn't she try harder to bury the pain she had inflicted upon others? She stared at the green snake on the handle and it glared back at her. Tori had no idea what she could do or where she could go.

And that's when it dawned on her. Andre had said that there was no way she could make up for the death of his sister. This was true to a certain extent. Tori couldn't just magically get Andre another sister. But there was one way she could make up for the murder. Tori didn't have anything to lose anymore. Her life was in complete shambles and the man she loved never wanted to see her again, never wanted to speak to her again. Tori understood that Andre most likely wanted revenge against the person who killed Maria, wanted that person to suffer like his whole family had. Tori knew that this idea could hurt a lot more people but Tori didn't care. All she cared about was making Andre happy again. This is what she truly wanted and she believed that this was what Andre wanted too. It was the only conceivable way now to atone for every wrong thing she had done to every person she met, every person that she knew. She knew what had to be done. It would be painful but it would all be worth it in the end for it would all be over very soon. And Andre would be happy again...he could finally move on...

Tori squeezed the dagger in her right hand and raised her left wrist. She began by pressing the edge of the blade against her skin and sliding it along, making sure there was as much pressure on her arm as she could force upon it. She watched the blood flow from the cut that she made before repeating the process as many times as it would take.

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**To Gogosilver (anonymous) - And as luck would have it, Tori trying to commit suicide was already in the plan. You got your way (this time). =D**

**terraXbbXFAN2 - Thanks! I'll keep the updates coming...as long as I still have them anyway. ^^**

**livvylovesyou - Good to hear you are doing well!  
**

**SQTGirl - Jade and Cat got the easier one?...Well, their job just got harder.**

**keyks554 - The guy just figured out that the girl he's dating killed his sister. Frankly, he could have done a lot worse.**

**Just Say'n (anonymous) - I really wish I could answer your question but answering it would still be giving stuff away. The answer to your question should clear itself up in the next few chapters so you won't have to wait long.  
**


	16. Learning to Forgive

**Learning to Forgive**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fan fics!

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Andre's alarm clock blared at him loudly that Saturday morning. Just like he did every other Saturday morning, Andre groaned and reached over to shut it off. He was still tired and he just wanted to sleep in today. Now that he was awake though, all he could do was lay there and stare at the ceiling. These past few weeks had been hard on him, what with all the work he had to do for finals. It also didn't help that he hadn't really spoken to his friends that much. They've tried to speak to him but he rarely spoke back. His mind was just too crowded with all kinds of thoughts. Every now and then, Andre's thoughts would glaze over Tori. But every time they did, he thought about what Tori did and then he had to quickly stamp out his thoughts and revert them to something else. He had been getting pretty good at that over the past couple weeks. Suddenly, Andre had some knocking on his bedroom door. "Come in," he said, somewhat groggily. His mother poked her head in the door.

"Hi Andre. I'm about to go to work. Do you need anything?"

"No thanks, Mom, I'm good."

"All right then. I also thought you should know that two of your friends are here. I let them in. I hope you don't mind."

As soon as Andre's mother said this, Andre shot right up. He was slightly stunned at this. Thinking quickly, Andre said "Sure, I guess." He wasn't sure why they were here or how much he wanted to speak to them, but if they were going to go to such trouble to come to his house, he might as well hear them out. Unless they were here to talk about Tori. There was nothing to discuss there. Andre's mother left, Andre could hear some voices from downstairs and then a few seconds later, Beck and Robbie entered his room.

"Hey Andre," said Beck.

"Hey guys...what are you doing here?" asked Andre.

"We came here to talk to you about Tori," said Robbie.

"Get out. There's nothing to talk about," Andre said.

He climbed back under his covers to try and ignore them. Beck and Robbie looked at each other. As they predicted, this wouldn't be easy. It was time for some tough love. Beck walked over and threw Andre's blankets off of him.

"Are you frickin' serious, man! Do you even have any idea what's going on?" Beck yelled at him.

"Yeah, Tori was born and it cost me a sister," grumbled Andre, reaching for his blankets so he could cover himself again.

"Tori made a mistake! Everyone makes mistakes! You can't hate her for that," protested Robbie.

"Mistakes don't end a person's life," replied Andre.

"So what? You're just going to hate Tori for the rest of your life because of one incident?" asked Beck.

"It wasn't just an incident! You don't get it! My sister was killed! You both know how much she meant to me!" argued Andre, now sitting up and shouting.

Robbie looked to Beck anxiously. Robbie was no good in an argument. It was going to come down to Beck to knock some sense into Andre.

"We do know how much Maria meant to you! Do you know that you mean that much to Tori?"

"What does it matter now?"

"Everything! Do you honestly think Tori would've done anything to hurt you on purpose?"

"No, but she still did. And not just me, my family!"

"That doesn't matter! Tori loves you and what you're doing to her is literally killing her!"

"Then she can finally learn how it feels."

"Are you seriously that dense? Because if you are, a guy like you doesn't deserve someone like Tori, someone that comes once in a lifetime! You're just being an ass!"

Andre stood up to protest to Beck. His fists were clenched as if he was about to hit him. But Beck was faster; he slapped Andre across the face as hard as he could and then pushed Andre back onto the bed. Robbie made a small squeaking noise at what he had just witnessed. Before Andre could react, Beck grabbed Andre by his collar and lifted him so that the two guys were at eye level. Beck had had enough of Andre's crap. It was time to let Andre have it.

"Listen to me! You've been obsessed with these Vipers ever since Maria died! You're so obsessed with them and getting revenge on them that you've become exactly like them! Is revenge all that matters to you? So much that you're not only going to throw away the best thing that's ever happened to you but also destroy it? You may be too stupid to realize it but you're doing exactly what you're saying Tori did to you! You're destroying her! Do you really think Maria would have wanted this? Do you think she would want you to destroy someone for her? Especially someone that you loved?"

This hit Andre hard. What Beck had said was absolutely right.

"You OK?" asked Beck, hoping that he hadn't permanently traumatized his friend.

"Uh-huh..I'm just not sure what I'm more shocked at. The fact that what you said is true or the fact that you actually did something for a change," replied Andre.

"Oh, come on," groaned Beck.

But in all seriousness, what Beck had said was true. Andre had been so wrapped up in avenging Maria that it didn't matter who he had to hurt to do it. He wanted revenge for Maria...but Maria never would have wanted to be avenged. She was too kind for that and she certainly would have been ashamed of Andre if he hurt someone on her behalf. And as for Tori, she never intended to hurt him or his family. And as far as Andre was able to tell, Tori was a completely changed person since then. She was everything he had ever wanted, she had given him the most happiness he had ever felt...and how did he repay her? He hurt her as much as he could, only caring about what he had wanted and not about how his thirst for vengeance could hurt other people he cared about. Tori wasn't the heartless murderess who would take someone's life now...Tori was a beautiful girl with amazing talent, a winsome personality, and a big heart. Tori was his.

Beck, seeing that Andre had calmed down, released him and Andre dropped back down to his bed.

"What have I done?" he asked Beck in horror.

"It's OK," spoke up Robbie, trying his best to be comforting.

"It's not OK...what you guys said is true. I've been so focused on Maria's murder that I let it control me. And I hurt Tori because of it!" Andre cried.

"It's OK, Jade and Cat are talking to Tori right now. Just calm down and then we can go over to Tori's and make things right," Beck said, patting Andre on the back.

The three friends were quiet for a few minutes as Andre tried to get his emotions under control. He knew now how wrong he had been to take his anger out on Tori and how unfair it was of him to treat her the way he did. It was time to show Tori the mercy and forgiveness she desperately needed.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by a beeping from Andre's phone. Beck's and Robbie's phones had beeped as well. Andre reached over and picked up his phone from off his bedside table. It was a text from Cat. Andre opened the message and read it. What he read mortified him. Any part of him that was still asleep was now wide awake.

_"tori's in the hospital, get over here now! D:"_

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_**A/N - My sincerest apologies to Beck fans. I couldn't resist taking the shot at him.**

**livvylovesyou - Hate to break it to you, but this is going to stay Tandre. However, there will be some Bori in one of my other stories and I'm currently working on ideas for a full-on Bori story. Any suggestions?**

**jamsaner - Thanks! I'm glad you like it! We'll see if you're right or not as we go along.**

**Team emmet (anonymous) - Thanks, here's the update!**

**I would reply to more but I just finished my finals and now I feel lazy...-_-...zzzZZZzzZZZzzzzZZZzZzzz...  
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	17. Too Late?

**Too Late?**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fan fics!**

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**Cat and Jade had gone to Tori's house as planned that Saturday morning, only to find an ambulance blaring outside of her house and to see Tori being rolled out on a stretcher and loaded into the ambulance. They quickly ran to the scene where Tori's parents were hugging and crying while Trina was running alongside the stretcher, tears in her eyes as well. Cat and Jade talked to Trina, who explained what had happened. Mr. Vega had come into Tori's room to say goodbye when he found her lying on the floor unconscious and bleeding from multiple cuts on her arms and legs. She was holding the Blood Viper dagger in her hand when she was found, which suggested that Tori had tried to kill herself. Cat and Jade quickly got into Mr. Vega's car with the rest of the Vega family and they drove to the hospital behind the ambulance. On the way, Cat sent a text to Robbie, Beck, and (reluctantly) Andre telling them that Tori was in the hospital and that they should come. Whether Andre would actually come, neither Cat nor Jade knew. But they all had to be there for Tori, now when she needed them the most.

***back at Andre's house***

Andre read the text on his phone again and again. He must have read it fifty times in the past two minutes and it still couldn't process in his mind. What was going on? Beck and Robbie looked at each other.

"We've got to go," said Beck.

Beck and Robbie quickly ran out Andre's door but Beck stopped and looked back at Andre.

"Are you coming or not?" he asked.

Andre popped out of his own thoughts and looked at Beck. "Yeah, I'm coming," he said quickly.

Andre jumped out of bed, only throwing on a jacket and some shoes on top of what he was wearing. The three guys ran downstairs and then out to Beck's car.

"Wait! I need something really quick!" said Andre.

He ran back into the house and Beck and Robbie anxiously waited for him for a minute or two. Andre then came running back out of the house, locked up the door, and shouted "Come on, let's go!" They clambered into Beck's car and quickly drove off to meet Cat, Jade and the Vega family at the hospital.

_"Please be OK, Tori. God, please let her be OK," _prayed Andre.

***at the hospital***

Cat and Jade were sitting by Tori's bedside in the hospital while the rest of the Vega family was waiting in the lobby, Tori's mutilated body being too much for them to bear. Tori had been hooked up to several machines to monitor her blood pressure and to try to stabilize her vitals. Tori was still alive but just barely. The doctors said that Tori lost a lot of blood from the cuts and they weren't sure if there was anything they could do for her, given how long ago the cuts were made. Cat stared very gloomily at Tori's closed eyes and even Jade was visibly upset over the prospect of Tori's potential death. They then heard the door open and turned to see Beck and Robbie standing there, panting.

"How is she?" asked Robbie.

"Bad...where's Andre?" said Cat, in complete disbelief that Andre wasn't here with them.

"Andre? He..."

Before Robbie could finish, Andre pushed past him and Beck and entered the room. "Sorry, I slipped on the wet floor and fell. Where's Tori?" he asked. Andre turned his attention to the bed and gasped. There was Tori in the bed, lying there practically lifelessly. Tori's hair was a complete mess and her face was pale and slightly wrinkled. Her arms were over the blanket so that Andre could see the numerous cuts of varying lengths along her arms, all red and crusted with dried blood. Andre slowly approached the bed, his mouth agape and his eyes widened. Silence had descended upon them all, the beeps of the machines being the only noises that could be heard. Andre couldn't take his eyes off of her. How could this have happened? How could he not have noticed what he was doing to her? How could he not see the pain she was in before it was too late? Wait...too late? It's not too late! It can't be!

Suddenly the door opened, causing Andre, Beck, Cat, Jade and Robbie to jump. The doctor responsible for Tori entered the room.

"And who might you be?" he asked Andre.

"I'm her boyfriend," said Andre, his eyes starting to water. Cat and Jade looked at each other, understanding that Beck and Robbie had finally gotten through to Andre. But was it too late?

"You were her boyfriend," said the doctor in a rather cold way, looking at the clipboard he was holding.

"No, I AM her boyfriend," said Andre with a fire forming in his voice.

"Well, Mr. Boyfriend. I don't know how much longer you'll be having a girlfriend. She lost a lot of blood from the cuts, not to mention she's lost a lot of weight because her family tells me she hasn't been eating or sleeping much. I've also been informed that she has a history with smoking, which has caused some damage to her lungs. Unless a miracle happens, she might not make it through the day."

"Don't say that! She's not going to die!"

"Well, I'm not going to stand here and argue with you. I have many patients to tend to. I'll leave you alone to say your goodbyes. Oh, and one other thing. This was found with the body. Is it of any interest to you?"

The doctor held up a plastic bag which contained a dagger. Andre recognized it right away. It was the Blood Viper dagger that he had found under Tori's bed. The blood on the blade was still dried but it was much more fresh than when he had found it a few weeks ago. Andre then realized what had happened. Tori had tried to kill herself, using the very knife she had used to kill Maria. But why would Tori do such a thing? Was it out of guilt for what she had done? Was it out of depression over the break-up and for how Andre had treated her since then? Was it because Tori thought this was what he wanted? Andre stared at the dagger and then turned back to Tori. As mad as he had been at Tori at the time, he had never wanted this to happen. And he knew that this was all his fault._ "What have I done?" _

_

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_**Oh no! Now what's going to happen? D=**

**terraXbbXFAN2 made a good point that the attempted suicide could be considered M. Initially, I didn't think so because I had read other fan fics involving suicide and self-cutting that were rated T (Even one that was rated K...seriously?). But I'd still hate to get canned on only my first fiction. Do you guys think I should change the rating?**

**exnavybrat89 - *reads review* ...Damn it.  
**

**purpleluva - Sorry, I was only able to update really fast. Glad you like the story though!**

**Gogosilver (anonymous) - She cut too much. Congratulations, you're two for two. Care to go for three?**

**SQTGirl - Well, their job got easier in a sense. Instead of a long drawn out conversation with Tori, all they had to do was tell the guys she was in the hospital.  
**

**whitechocolateangel (anonymous) - Thanks! That conversation was probably the part I spent the most time on for the entire story. At least someone thinks my efforts paid off. **

**Courage1220 - Well, Tori's unconscious and possibly dying...that definitely makes it hard for Andre.  
**


	18. Please Forgive Me

**Please Forgive Me**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious, the song "Song2You" or have any affiliation with either or any other fan fics!  


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The doctor placed the baggie with the dagger on a chair and left the room without a word. Andre looked back at the door and then approached Tori's bedside. Cat and Jade got up and stood with Beck and Robbie so that Andre could sit down. The foursome wasn't sure whether they should leave and let Andre be alone with Tori or stay here in case Andre did something. They ended up standing by the door in complete silence, not taking their eyes off of Andre or Tori.

Andre sat down and stared at Tori. For a few minutes, that was all he could do. It was taking all of Andre's strength to keep from crying. "Tori..." Andre was still trying to find the words to say. He took a deep breath and continued.

"Tori, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything. It wasn't your fault that you killed Maria, it never was and I shouldn't have taken it out on you. You didn't deserve that. You deserve nothing but the best. You are the best friend I've ever had and I treated you like crap. I'm so so sorry! And I'm not just saying that, I really really am. I love you Tori!"

Andre couldn't hold back his tears anymore. He broke down and cried hysterically, tossing his body over hers. The others were trying hard not to cry themselves. This was painful to watch but they knew they had to stay there. They had to be strong for Andre and Tori. Andre sat up straight again, wiping away his tears.

"There's something I want to give you, Tori. Before it's too late..." he said.

Andre reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small velvet box and opened it. Inside was a small silver promise ring. The ring he had planned on giving her the weekend he found the knife. Beck and Robbie now understood why Andre had to go back into the house before they left.

Andre turned to Tori and said "I got this for you, Tori. I was going to give it to you on that Memorial Day weekend before I found the dagger. This is how much you mean to me."

He picked up Tori's limp hand and slipped the ring over her ring finger. It was still shining as the lights of the room reflected off of it. The ring was a perfect fit on Tori's delicate hand.

"You're perfect, Tori. You're kind, you're funny, you're beautiful, you're...you're..." Andre started crying again but he still worked to get the words out of his mouth. "You're everything to me. I love you Tori and I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"

He continued to bawl for a few more minutes, and now Cat, Robbie, Beck and even Jade were beginning to cry. This was too much.

Andre looked at Tori's peaceful yet damaged face, hoping for some sort of response. A word, a movement, anything! But nothing, she merely laid there. Andre didn't know what else he could say. He didn't even know if Tori could hear him. Still in tears, Andre remembered what his grandmother told him: _"No matter how bad things get, you can always make it better by singing a song."_ What did he have to lose? So Andre turned to Tori and tried to sing the song he had written for her.

_"I don't wear designer clothes...I don't go to the finest schools..but I know...I ain't no f-f-fool, baby...I may not be a star, I'm not driving the sickest car...but I know..I can make you happy...b-b-baby..."_

He stalled to wipe more tears from his eyes. His emotions were maxed out right now. Beck, Robbie, Cat and Jade looked at each other, looked at Tori and then looked at Andre. They walked over to Andre to show that they supported him. One by one, they started to join in the song to help Andre try to reach Tori. But they were all fighting tears too, stuttering on words that were being choked up.

_"I don't know what you've been used to...never been with a girl like you...but I can give y-y-you a love that's true to-to-toooo...your heart not material things...I'll give you my song, these w-w-words to you...s-s-sing you what I f-f-f-f-f-eel...my soul...is true...I don't have the world, can't give it to y-y-you g-g-girl...but all that I can do...all that I can do...is give this song to-" BEEEEEEEEEEP  
_

Andre's eyes widened as soon as he heard it. They all looked at Tori. None of them wanted to believe it. Tori Vega was dead.

* * *

**Studies, such as 'Rex Dies', have recently shown that singing to people in hospitals causes more deaths than motor vehicle accidents and handgun violence.**

**I know a lot of people hoped or thought that Tori would live. Unfortunately for you guys, I'm an ass. In all honesty, it was a painful decision but one that I think will work in the end. Either that or I get hunted down and killed by an angry mob.  
**

**jamsaner - Shooting the doctor would definitely land me an M rating. But on the other hand, he was kind of a jerk...**

**ohsnapitzJess - It's cool, I don't expect people to review every single chapter. I certainly haven't reviewed every chapter I've read because I'm far too lazy. But I've still been reading your works and they are awesome! (Please don't hurt me.)**

**WhiteChocolateAngel - Oh yeah...except Tori lived in yours. D=  
**

**Just Say'n - *reads review*...Oops. **

**purpleluva - Great! Here's another response and update!**

**Gogosilver (anonymous) - Well...she didn't live. ****So based on a hunch, it will _probably_ be watching over Andre in death.**

**DinosXGoXRawr -Thanks! I'm glad you like the story!  
**

**Jeremy Shane -OK, here's some more.  
**

**SQTGirl - And if the emotions were extreme before, they're about to go into overdrive now. And yeah, I've decided to leave the rating at T. Worst case scenario, it gets pulled down and you'll all find far superior stories to read. It's not the end of the world.**

**Holy crap, I wrote a lot...  
**


	19. Exhausted

**Exhausted**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious, the song or have any affiliation with it or any other fan fics!

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**

_We are sorry to inform you that Miss Victoria Vega has passed away... _Andre still couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe that the girl he loved was dead. First Maria, now Tori...how could the world be so cruel to him to take away the two girls that mattered the most in his life? To make the situation worse, he knew that this time, it was entirely his fault. How could he be so stupid? If he hadn't lashed out at her so hard when he found out she killed Maria, he would still have a girlfriend and be in a loving relationship where they could have gotten married, maybe have a couple of children. If he hadn't been so cold to her and treated her so poorly, Tori wouldn't have cut and starved herself to death. She would still be here, he could tell her he forgave her and they could be in love all over again. Andre wanted so desperately to be able to take back the things he had said and done but it was too late. It had all happened so fast and before he knew it, Tori was gone forever. Now she would never forgive him...she never even said goodbye to him...

A week has passed since Tori died. Andre had just come home from Tori's memorial service, having attended her funeral just a few days prior. Never before has a week been filled with so many tears. At Tori's funeral, Andre sat up front with his and Tori's friends as well as the Vega family during the ceremony. Andre had been called up to give a speech about Tori but he had started crying again in the middle of it. After the ceremony was over, Andre looked into the casket and gazed at Tori for what would be the final time. Even in her condition, Tori still looked very pretty in the black evening dress that had been picked out for her body. She looked so peaceful, as if she were sleeping. Andre looked at her right hand and saw that she was still wearing the ring that he had slipped onto her finger before she died. It would go with her to the grave and be with her for eternity. Andre cried into Beck's shoulder during the burial. Beck did his best to comfort his friend as they watched Tori's casket get lowered into the ground but to no avail.

Andre and company attended Tori's memorial service a few days later. Many of Tori's friends, from both Sherwood High and Hollywood Arts, had come to the service. Many students came up to give testimonies on how wonderful and talented of a person Tori was and how much they were going to miss her. Even a few retired Blood Vipers had come to attend Tori's memorial service as Andre noticed, but he was too wrapped up in Tori to care. One of the Vipers had come up to give a testimony himself, calling Tori brave, noble and strong and saying that he had been happy to hear the news that Tori had made a good living for herself after leaving the Vipers. Andre then gave one last speech talking about Tori, how much she meant to him and how sorry he was for what he did to her. He also performed a cover of _"I Will Follow You Into The Dark"_ by Death Cab for Cutie. He managed to get through the speech without crying this time as well as the song, but he broke down again upon rejoining his friends in the audience. After the service, Andre didn't want to talk to or do anything with anybody. He just got straight up and went home.

His house was dark and empty when he got there. Andre simply tossed his jacket onto the couch and sulked upstairs into his room. He walked to his bed and collapsed on it. These past few weeks had been the most draining of his life, physically, mentally, and emotionally. He didn't have anything left in him, he felt weak and powerless. He wondered where Tori's spirit was now...had it already ascended into Heaven to be with the angels? Could it still be roaming this Earth? Why was he thinking about this stuff? Andre grabbed a pillow and buried his face into it. He wanted to tell himself that he was just really tired from everything that had happened. He wanted to wake up the next morning and see Tori sleeping beside him, to realize this was all a sick nightmare. Man..how many times had he tried to convince himself that this was all just a dream as an attempt to deny reality? He was clearly getting desperate. Andre pushed the pillow off his face onto the floor and just laid there. It didn't take long for his eyes to begin losing the battle to stay open. He fought it for a while but then decided it wasn't worth fighting. Sleep would probably do him a lot of good right now. Andre relaxed and allowed his body to succumb to slumber.

* * *

**A/N** - **So yeah, Tori's dead dead. And the story is almost over. I know people are probably upset that I killed Tori (I'm cowering under my desk as I type this) and I genuinely feel bad about it and am sorry to those who are upset. But if you really liked the story as much as the reviews suggest you do, then have a little faith...and don't kill me (please?).**

**ohsnapitzJess - Thanks! I actually live in US, I just update early for our time. I have visited England though, it's nice. :)  
**

**Just Say'n - Thanks. The evil in me giggled as I saw most people thinking Tori would live and it cackled as I read their reactions (The good in me did feel kind of guilty though). If I'm going to choose between what I think would be more predictable and what I think would be a shock, I'm going to go for the shock if possible.  
**

**livvylovesyou - At least someone's happy about the decision to kill off Tori. Yay!(?) **

**comics lover - It would seem so...gone but not forgotten.  
**

**WhiteChocolateAngel - I just did. But the story's not over yet. Just almost over. **

**jamsaner - No kiss of life, sorry. But if it makes you feel better, the doctor later spontaneously burst into flames. Police are still trying to figure out how it happened.  
**

**Courage1220 -If three minutes is an eternity, then yes.  
**

**keyks554 - Unfortunately, denied.  
**

**Jeremy Shane - Great, here's some more story.  
**

**The Blind Sniper - everyone else: Bring Tori back to life! D= me: No! ...So much for listening to the readers' thoughts. D=**

**ScissorLuvCallie - I'm sad about the story too but I'm happy that you love it so it's all good!**

**SQTGirl - All those hopeful chapters for nothing indeed! No miracle this time...  
**


	20. Forever and Beyond

**Forever and Beyond**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fan fics!**

**

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**

Andre slowly stirred, unable to sleep. He opened his eyes to see that it was still night time. A cold breeze hit him from the window. Andre shivered. Oh, how he wished Tori were there with him. But then, Andre heard the door creak.

"I'm fine, Mom, you don't have to come in," he mumbled.

"Mom? That's a new nickname," said a familiar voice.

Andre recognized it immediately and shot up. He couldn't believe it. Tori Vega was standing there in his doorway. She was wearing a gorgeous white dress and a small tiara on her head.

"Tori? It's..it's really you?" he asked.

"Hi, Andre...it's been a while," she said to him.

Tori smiled the way she used to but there was a sadness behind this smile. She walked toward him and sat beside him on the bed. Andre was mesmerized. She was still beautiful, even more than ever before. She appeared to glow in the moonlight, as if she were a mixture between an angel and a ghost. He put one hand on her own and stroked her hair with his other. No way...he could feel her!

"But how?" he asked.

"Did you really think I was going to leave you without saying goodbye?" asked Tori.

Andre looked sadly at her. This was just a dream. Tori wasn't really here; it was nothing more than a vision or imagination of her spirit or soul or whatever this was. Andre felt so confused, probably because he was so tired. Even though this was a dream, this might be his last chance to talk to her. His last chance to make things right.

"Tori...I'm so sorry for everything...for how I acted and for how I treated you..I'm so sor-"

"Stop saying you're sorry. I heard everything you said in the hospital...I'm the one who should be sorry."

"But I'm the reason you killed yourself...you died at the hand of my own hatred and you should hate me back."

"I could never hate you, Andre. It was my own decisions that caused this anyway..."

"Don't say that. You're the most amazing person I've ever met and nothing could ever change that. Not your past, your present or your future."

"Thanks...you're amazing too. I'm so grateful that you were brought into my life and that someone like me could ever be loved by someone like you."

"Could you ever forgive me, Tori?"

"I already have...I'm just happy that you have forgiven me too. That's all I need."

"I love you so much, Tori."

"I love you too...and thank you for the ring...it's the most amazing promise anyone has ever made me...can I give you something too?"

Andre stared in Tori's eyes as Tori raised her right hand, showing that she was still wearing the ring Andre had given her. She then picked up Andre's own hand and slipped an identical ring onto his finger. Tori looked into Andre's eyes, tears in her own.

"As you know, I was with the Vipers before I met you. I had learned to be cold, distant, hateful towards the world. All I could see was the flaws of the world...the crime, the selfishness...and I learned to hate the world. Not even my own family seemed to care about anybody but themselves. And that's why the Vipers happened...for I learned that I had to be cruel, heartless, merciless and reckless to survive in this world. I had come to believe that there was no room for the weak, only the strong. And then I killed Maria...and got caught. I spent almost two years in rehab where I realized the world wasn't the problem...the problem was me...everything I had hated was because of my own character, my own bitterness...even when I was finally released from rehab, I hated everything but above all else, I hated myself."

Tori wiped her eyes and made a small sniffling sound before continuing.

"And then I met you...you were so friendly..so caring..so kind..I had never met anyone like you before in my life. You showed me that there was good in the world, that there were people who cared about each other...you helped me get into Hollywood Arts where I could make friends like never before and where I could learn that the world could be a bright and beautiful place...but most importantly, Andre...you saved me from myself...and I love you for that."

Tori was on the verge of tears again. Andre was at a loss for words. He couldn't believe he meant that much to Tori or that he could possibly have such an impact on someone's life, let alone someone he really loved. Andre would've cried with Tori upon hearing her story but after all he had been through this week, he had cried out pretty much all the tears he had. All he could do was sadly hug her and pat her on the back. Tori wiped her eyes again, broke away from the embrace and gave Andre a small sad smile.

"I have to go now...but I'll always be with you. I love you and I always will..never forget that."

"I'll never forget you or your love, Tori," replied Andre.

"I'll see you on the other side, then?"

"Yeah...and then we can be together, forever and beyond..."

"Goodbye, Andre..."

"Goodbye, Tori..."

Tori got up from the bed and began to walk towards the door. Andre sat there and watched, memorizing everything about her before she left. The way she looked, the way she spoke, the way she moved, the way she laughed, everything he could about her. Tori reached the door, turned around to look back at Andre and smiled.

"One more for the road?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure..." said Andre with a small chuckle.

Tori walked back to Andre, sat on the bed and closed her eyes. Andre closed his eyes and slowly leaned in, so close that he could feel her breath, for that one final special kiss..._  
_

Andre jolted awake. He looked around to see that his room was still dark and empty. But that dream had felt so real...as if Tori was really in the room with him. He was clearly beginning to lose his mind. Andre got up and walked to the bathroom to splash his face with some water. He let the water run for a while and then splashed his face a few times, rubbing the water into his skin. After he finished rubbing, Andre looked at his hands. Something had appeared on his right hand. He looked closer at his own finger. It was a shiny silver ring...just like the one Tori had given him in the dream. Andre shook his head and focused his sight to make sure. He could have sworn he wasn't wearing this when he came home or when he went to bed. Andre slipped the ring off his finger and held it. It had weight...he wasn't seeing things! This wasn't a dream. Andre then looked closer at the ring. A small message for him had been etched on it. He had to squint really hard to read it but was able to make out the words. _"Andre, I love you with all my heart. With this ring, I promise to be with you always. -Tori"_

_

* * *

_**Awww! There's only two more chapters left after this! Can you believe we're already almost done?**

**Gogosilver - Yes I said that I finished writing this story weeks ago so you're not wrong. I'm taking my time editing and publishing each chapter. Where's the fun in publishing all the chapters in one day?**

**Animorph92 - Thanks, and I just read your story. It's really good so far! Don't worry about reviews, they'll come in time. Mine didn't start piling up until chapter eight.  
**

**SQTGirl - Well...I kinda brought her back. So that brought a bit more to write. **

**MysteryWriter54321 - Awww. *pats shoulder in futile effort to comfort*  
**

**Just Say'n - I'm not sure if we can call this moving on but at least peace has officially been made.**

**Jeremy Shane - I'm starting to sense a pattern here. XD**

**Courage1220 - Yep, there was still stuff for Andre to do. Like have crazy dreams where he reconciles with his deceased girlfriend.  
**

**ohsnapitzJess - Thanks! BTW, I visited during the latter part of the summer, which is when cold and wet becomes nice. =)  
**


	21. Tori's Ring

**Tori's Ring**

**DISCLAIMER - I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fan fics!**

**

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**

It was the final day of the school year. Everyone was relieved to have finished their finals and to have one last day of school consisting only of celebration. Andre, although still sad, had somewhat returned to normal and just like he used to, he sat at the usual lunch table with Beck, Jade, Robbie, Rex and Cat. Even though he was surrounded by his friends, he still felt alone. Beck had Jade, Robbie had Cat, Rex had...Robbie. Andre knew he had Tori with him but only in spirit. Andre looked at the ring on his finger. He had put it back on and had not taken it off ever since he found it that night. Right now, it was all he had left of her.

"Hey Andre! What up with that bling!" shouted Rex.

Andre looked up and saw that everyone noticed that he was looking at his ring. "It's nothing," he said, sticking his hand under the table.

"Uh-uh-uh," taunted Jade. She reached under the table, grabbed Andre's hand and yanked it out from under the table for everyone to see.

"Nice ring, where did you get it?" teased Beck.

Andre looked nervous. If he told the truth, they would've thought he was crazy. Screw it...he _was_ crazy.

"I found it on my hand the other night. I fell asleep, I saw Tori in a dream, she gave me the ring and when I woke up, it was on my hand!" Andre blurted out.

Andre's friends couldn't help but giggle like school girls. Andre turned very red. He knew he sounded insane and he knew he was probably losing his mind. He would've laughed at himself as well if he weren't so uncertain.

"OK...we're being cruel...we should tell him the truth about the ring before he freaks out and kills himself too," laughed Beck.

"Huh?" Andre looked at each of his friends. "What truth? What are you guys hiding?"

"Calm down, Andre. We'll tell you everything that happened..."said Robbie.

***Flashback***

_It was Thursday, the day before Memorial Day weekend started. Tori was super excited for the upcoming four-day weekend. She looked forward to spending time with her friends, her family, and, most of all, her boyfriend. She closed her eyes and daydreamed about Andre. Andre had told her he had big plans for Saturday and she couldn't wait to see what they were. No matter what they were, being with the guy she loved most was the most important thing. It was lunchtime and Tori met up with Cat and Jade to go meet with the guys for lunch. After they purchased their food, they went to their usual lunch table where they then sat with their respective boyfriends. _

_Tori smiled at Andre and said "Hi sweetie, how are you doing?" as she sat next to him._

_ "I'm doing great now that you're here," said Andre, smiling. The two kissed and then started to talk with the rest of the group. During their conversation, Andre's phone rang. He pulled it out. "It's the record company. Be back in a jiff," he said as he got up and went to talk in the parking lot where he could hear his phone. Tori took advantage of his absence._

_ "Did Andre say anything about Memorial Day weekend?" she asked Beck and Robbie. _

_"Uhhh...he might have mentioned something," said Beck. Tori could tell he was hiding something. _

_"You guys know something, don't you? What did he say? He says he has big plans but he won't tell me!" Tori said._

_ "Calm down, Vega. I'm sure it's supposed to be a surprise. You'll find out in a couple days anyway," said Jade. _

_"Yeah, they're not big plans anyway. Just a dinner, a walk and a ring," said Robbie, whose attention was more on his lunch than Tori. _

_"A what?" _

_Robbie just realized what he had said and looked at Tori, whose face registered an expression of shock. He then saw turned to see Beck glaring at him. _

_"Uhh..nothing! Nothing!" shouted Robbie. But it was too late. Tori had heard what Robbie said. _

_"Nice going, dumb ass!" shouted Rex from Robbie's bag. _

_"Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap! It was supposed to be a surprise!" groaned Robbie. _

_"I can't believe it...Andre...got me..a ring?" Tori gasped. _

_"Yaaaay! You two are getting married!" squealed Cat._

_ "No! Andre's not proposing! I swear, he's not proposing. It's just a promise ring," said Beck. _

_"Wow..."said Tori. She couldn't believe Andre loved her that much. _

_"Shhhh! Andre's coming back!" whispered Jade. _

_The five friends tried to appear nonchalant as Andre returned to sit with them. "Sorry 'bout that. They just told me they loved the new songs I sent them and that they want to see me for production work on Sunday. So what are we talking about?" he said._

_ "I'm thinking of changing my hair color!" said Cat._

_ Realizing this was improv, Robbie chimed in and said "She thinks I'd like a different color but I thinks she's fine just the way she is. What do you think?" _

_The conversation returned to normal and went on until lunchtime was over._

_The next day, Tori woke up and welcomed the first day of the big weekend. She was still stunned about what Robbie had revealed. Was Andre really going to give her a ring? She was really excited and knew that she loved Andre. She wanted to make the same gesture and the same promise to him. Before doing anything, Tori confided this plan with Cat, who told her it was a great idea. That day, she went to a jewelry store that dealt in similar types of rings. She used her own savings to pay for the promise ring and had her personal message engraved onto it. She took it home with her and hid it in her room before leaving to spend time with her friends. Tori had it all planned out. She was going to take the ring with her to her big date with Andre. She would wait for Andre to present his ring to her and then she would give her ring to him. The problem with this plan? It never happened. Andre found the dagger and it crushed his plans to give her the ring. Tori waited and waited for Andre to present the ring but the moment never came. She was left hurt and confused when Andre left without giving her a ring and she criticized herself for being so stupid and emotional. _

_The rest of Tori's life flew by with the fight, the break-up, the self-destruction and the death. When Cat saw Andre give Tori the ring at the hospital, she remembered that Tori told her about her own promise ring. Now that Tori was dead, she couldn't give her ring to Andre. As Tori's friend, Cat made a plan to make sure that ring got to Andre. It was what Tori would've wanted. After the funeral, she went to the Vega household and asked if she could look around Tori's room. It took her a long time but she eventually found the box that had the ring. On the night of the memorial service, Cat informed Jade, Robbie and Beck about the ring. After Andre had gone home, the four friends drove to Andre's house. Beck used the key that Andre trusted him with to let Cat in. She quietly sneaked into Andre's room, who had fallen sound asleep. Being very careful not to wake him up, Cat tiptoed to Andre, gently lifted up his hand and slipped the ring onto his finger. She then got out of the house and the friends drove off. And that's how Andre got the ring._

***Back to present***_  
_

"So let me get this straight. Tori found out I was going to get a ring for her, got one for me but never gave it to me since I never gave her mine, then she died and then Cat was the one who put it on my finger while I was sleeping?" asked Andre.

"Yeah...I guess we could have just told you that way...we really need to stop over-explaining things," said Beck.

Andre stared at his ring. So in a way, the ring _had_ come from Tori. Even though the ring ended up coming from Cat, it was Tori's ring and it was Tori's promise. The thought comforted Andre in so many ways as he looked at it. He felt a breeze brush against his shoulders, but it was a nice, relaxing breeze. It felt as if Tori was right beside him. Andre looked up at the sky, not even listening to his friends' discussion. "Andre, you OK?" asked Jade. Andre continued to look up. There was only one cloud in the sky, and Andre swore, it looked exactly like Tori. As if Tori was up in Heaven, watching over him, being with him always. Just like she promised.

"I'm going to be just fine..." Andre said with a smile, meaning it for the first time in weeks.

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**ZOMB Bloodshed has hit 100 reviews and 5000 hits! Thank you so much to my awesome readers and reviewers! It's you guys that keep a story alive so thank you! It makes me kinda sad that the next chapter is the last. Now let's get to the reviews!**

**WhiteChocolateAngel - Wow, I know I said I was going to go for the shock but I didn't think it would happen like that. My spring break actually just ended but classes are light on me this quarter so I have more free time. I'm glad that you're glad. Yes the 5's are S's. I'm hyped up too 'cause I just had lunch.**

**Just Say'n - It makes me sad to end the story too but they all have to come to an end eventually. Is there another surprise? You'll have to wait and see. Whatever way it ends though, thanks for reading faithfully.  
**

**love-love-love - Yes! Being a dark and depressing person has finally paid off! I'm just kidding but I'm really glad you have enjoyed the story.**

**Eliza (anonymous) - Dang..if only I thought of that earlier...or did I already?**

**jamsaner - "**NO MOAR DEATH, PLEASE :)" **This is coming from the guy who wanted the doctor to die. In all seriousness though, I'm glad you enjoyed the story and thanks for sticking with it. Favorite chapter ever? Probably won't be for long but for now, I'm honored to have the title.**

**Good Chapter & More Please - Thanks! There's just one more good (?) chapter to give you though.  
**

**ohsnapitzJess - Yep, you're number #100. Congratulations, the bragging rights are all yours! I'm glad you enjoyed the story and thanks for sticking with it to the end. And keep up the work for you as well! I really should motivate myself to leave reviews more often 'cause the stories are great!**

**SQTGirl - Thanks for staying with the story; I'm glad you enjoyed it! Truthfully, the idea of a sequel to Bloodshed never crossed my mind. But if the idea is good enough to play around with, I'll definitely think about it. It'll take a while though; I already have a few other projects in the works.  
**


	22. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Victorious or have any affiliation with it or any other fan fics...do you guys even read this?**

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Forty years have passed since Tori's death. Andre, Beck, Cat, Jade, Robbie, and Trina all finished their senior year at Hollywood Arts and graduated. From there, they went their separate ways as they went off to college. They still kept in touch as much as possible but as the years went on, this became more and more difficult as the havoc of life was unleashed upon each of them. Still, about maybe once a year, they were all able to get together to catch up and spend some quality time together. Every time they meet, they also talk about Tori. All of them had moved on to very different lives but in the end, all of them were happy.

Trina continued to try making it as a singer and actress. Unfortunately, her lack of talent continued to hurt her wherever she went. Just when her career appeared its bleakest, Trina finally found her niche. With Andre's consent, Trina wrote a film that depicted the true story of Tori and Andre. She offered the idea to the producers at Universal Studios, who loved the story and funded the movie, which Trina would also direct. The film went on to become a box office smash, topping charts nationwide and from there, Trina became an award-winning writer/producer/director. Even years later, she meets with Andre every so often and the two of them would talk for hours.

Beck attempted to get into a career of acting. However, he only obtained minimal success due to what critics best described as "a lack of energy and personality." However, Beck continued to be praised for his looks, which prompted him to abandon acting and become a professional male model, as well as a spokesperson for political issues and several products. This change allowed him to become highly successful. Beck married Jade only a couple of years after graduating college and now they have two daughters named Rosie and Sherry. Even in his late 50's, Beck was still considered one of the hottest men alive and continues to model and go on public tours today.

Jade continued her work as a playwright. Her plays were critically acclaimed for their creativity and their impact on the audience because Jade's plays dared to symbolize issues that others never dared to. Jade won a few awards and then retired from writing plays by the time her daughters were off to college. However, she still writes books and has had them published. Although not at successful or appreciated as her plays, they still garnered some success and one of them had been made into a movie with her approval and supervision. She now lives with Beck in a small rural town where the two can live peacefully.

Robbie and Rex made their big break on TV when Robbie participated in a stand-up comedy show with Rex. They were positively received by the audience, allowing Robbie to get his own segment on Comedy Central. Rex got his own wife a few years into the show, who would be voiced by Cat. Robbie and Cat broke up when Cat made her own big break because Robbie didn't want to hold her back. However, the two remained very good friends and Cat still makes occasional appearances on Robbie's show as Rex's wife. Robbie, Rex and Renee (Rex's wife) life alone in their apartment in Chicago and have regular interaction with fans of their show.

Cat has made many appearances in plays, TV shows, and movies, but her most notable attribute was her phenomenal singing voice. With Robbie's encouragement, she performed an original song live at Times Square and scored a record deal. She released a total of four albums throughout a career with over ten charting singles. Cat has also learned ventriloquism from Robbie and has appeared on his comedy show where she provides the voice for Rex's wife. After breaking up with Robbie, Cat married another man named Peter and the two of them now live in a big house just on the outskirts of New York City. Cat has a son named Johnny who just recently began attending Julliard University to follow his mother's footsteps.

And what became of Andre Harris? Andre continued his work with the record producers and wrote several songs that would be certified platinum or gold. He has co-written songs for multiple artists, including Cat, and has even released an album of his own. Before he knew it, Andre became the manager of his own music company, which produced for several award-winning artists. Andre also wrote a book about the film that Trina produced about his story with Tori entitled _My Gangster Girlfriend_. To avoid controversy with Trina's film, he only shared this with close friends and family. However, the book had somehow been leaked to the public and was praised for its story and emotion.

Andre now lives alone in a small house he bought in southern California. He just retired a couple of years ago. Occasionally, fans of his work would come visit his house but other than that, Andre's life is quiet, relaxed and peaceful. Andre was sitting in his living room, watching some TV. He just so happened to be watching the movie that had been converted from one of Jade's books. Andre was feeling quite tired, after all he is 57 now and age is starting to increase his own fatigue. He got up and went into his bedroom. He crawled into bed and looked at the table he had set up on the other side of the room. Resting upon it are two identical urns with two picture frames. One of these urns contains Maria's ashes, with her picture right next to it. The other urn is empty, but next to it is a picture of Tori. Even though Tori hadn't been cremated, Andre felt it was appropriate to get a matching urn so that she and Maria could sit side by side. Sitting in front of both urns and between the pictures was a dagger with red cloth wrapped around the handle, a picture of a green snake on it, and faint marks of blood on the blade. Tori's dagger. Andre had taken it from the hospital and had never gotten rid of it. In a way, it was part of what he had left of Tori, so he kept it. He smiled at the urns and dagger and then smiled at his right hand. After all these years, Andre still wears the promise ring that Tori had gotten for him. Every day, Andre can feel Tori fulfilling her promise, being with him at all times and in everything that he does. The day would soon come where he and Tori would finally be reunited so that they could be together forever. All he can do now is wait.

"Good night, Tori," he whispers with a smile and he allows himself to fall asleep.

* * *

**THE END  
**

**And just like that, the story is finished. Ending the story makes me really sad but it had to happen. I just want to thank you for reading this story. When I first started writing this story, I had very low expectations of myself and the story, since it was my first one. I figured I would finish it, it would fade, and I would move on. I was pleasantly surprised, even overwhelmed, by the positive feedback I received. And yes I know I screwed with you guys a lot but I'm genuinely grateful that you put up with it. Some parts of the story I loved, other parts I didn't like so much but overall, I had a really good time writing it and I hope you genuinely enjoyed it. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this story and thank you to those who left reviews, especially those who left advice on improvement. Whether you liked the story or hated it, I appreciate it.  
**

** Until next time, -Chee5e55ave5**

**Quick shoutout to Animorph92 who also shouted out to me. His fanfiction Love, Lust and Life is crazy good so you should go check it out and leave a review!  
**

**jamsaner - Yeah I felt the need to explain the ring since it was out of place in an otherwise realistic story. Plus it added some extra niceness and romance to the story so I'm very happy about the decision. Thanks for the support! Good day!  
**

**livvylovesyou - Wow you weren't kidding when you said you love death. I'm not entirely sure about a sequel in terms of what I would do. If I do decide on a sequel, it probably won't surface for a long time. My other story Regrets is still in progress and I have a third project in the works as well. Three stories at once is a bit overwhelming for a simpleton such as myself.  
**

**Just Say'n - Not sure about memorable but it has a pretty nice end to it.  
**

**Eliza (anonymous) - Not quite...sorry, I just couldn't resist the opportunity to play one more mind game.**

**Jeremy Shane - There's no more...what are you gonna say now? Just Good Chapter?**

**SQTGirl - I'll definitely play around with it. The fun in writing is sticking your neck out with fresh ideas. Thanks for the faith!**

**WhiteChocolateAngel - Well...it was kind of Tori. And it was definitely her in spirit. Oh well, can't make everyone happy. Thanks for reading!  
**


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